AI Summary
The content of the article discusses a study conducted by Ludwig Cancer Research on patients with advanced melanoma to determine factors that predict their response to personalized immunotherapy called adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). The study identified preexisting conditions in tumors that can predict whether patients are likely to respond to this therapy. The study also describes biomarkers that could potentially be used to select patients for TIL-ACT. The goal is to quickly identify patients who are unlikely to respond to TIL-ACT so that alternative treatments can be offered. This research is significant because it can improve the success rate of personalized cancer treatments and help identify patients who will benefit from TIL-ACT.
Through an analysis of tumor samples collected over time from patients with advanced melanoma, a Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a set of preexisting conditions in tumors that predict whether such patients are likely to respond to a personalized immunotherapy known as adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL).
Led by Ludwig Lausanne’s David Barras, Eleonora Ghisoni, Johanna Chiffelle, Denarda Dangaj Laniti and Branch Director George Coukos and reported in Science Immunology, the study also describes biomarkers that, with further vetting, could help clinicians select patients for TIL-ACT. In this therapy, TIL-;which kill cancerous cells-;are isolated from a patient, expanded in culture and then reinfused into the patient as a treatment.
Given the aggressiveness of advanced melanoma, the potential value of TIL-ACT for patients who respond to it after failing immune checkpoint blockade immunotherapy and other available lines of therapy can’t be overstated. The question, of course, is who those people are and since only a fraction of patients currently benefit from the experimental therapy, it is vitally important to be able to quickly identify those who are unlikely to respond so that they can be quickly offered alternative treatments. Our study has taken a big step toward making that possible.”
George Coukos
The Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research is developing a number of strategies for personalized immunotherapies, ranging from cancer vaccines to personalized adoptive cell therapies (ACT) for a variety of cancers, including TIL-ACT.
To explore how the tumors differed between patients who