Adoptive Cell Therapy Following Non-myeloablate Chemotherapy in Metastatic Melanoma Patients

Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive and highly malignant cancer. The five-year survival rate of patients with metastatic disease is less than 5% with a median survival of only 6-10 months. Drugs like Dacarbazin (DTIC) as a single agent or in combination with other chemotherapy agents, have a response rate of 15-30%, but the duration of response is usually short, with no impact on survival. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) based immunotherapy has shown more promising results. This form of therapy has a similar response rate with some patients achieving a durable complete response. Recently the National Institute of Health (NIH) reported that by using lympho-depleting chemotherapy, followed by an adoptive transfer of large numbers of anti-tumor specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), an objective regression was achieved in 51% of patients with metastatic melanoma.

Objectives: To introduce the TIL technology to advanced metastatic melanoma patients in Israel.