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Review
. 2012 Oct;14(5):468-74.
doi: 10.1007/s11912-012-0257-5.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in melanoma

Sylvia Lee  1 , Kim Margolin
Affiliations
Review

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in melanoma

Sylvia Lee et al. Curr Oncol Rep. 2012 Oct.

Abstract

Adoptive cell therapy using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) is arguably the most effective treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma. With higher response rates than ipilimumab or IL-2, and longer durations of response than vemurafenib, TIL therapy carries the potential to transform current outcomes in melanoma, while also defining the way cell-based immunotherapy gets incorporated into mainstream cancer treatment. This paper will review the current state of TIL therapy in melanoma, the strategies to improve its efficacy, the current obstacles, and future directions to expand the availability of TIL to the general patient population.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Figures

Fig
Fig
Generation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Methodologies for generating tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes were pioneered by the Surgery Branch of the NCI/NIH. Tumor is first harvested from the patient, dissected into fragments, and then cultured with IL-2 for 2–4 weeks until the lymphocytes reach 30–50 million in number. After lymphocytes are tested against tumor cells, they undergo a 2-week rapid expansion to achieve a goal of at least 1 billion cells, which are then infused into the patient.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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