Prior therapy may reduce efficacy of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for advanced melanoma

Source: Healio, November 2021

Prior treatment with newer-generation therapies appeared associated with significantly lower objective response rates among patients who received tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for metastatic melanoma, according to study findings.

Early clinical trials of adoptive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) for metastatic melanoma showed consistent objective response rates of approximately 50%, Stephanie L. Goff, MD, FACS, associate research physician with the surgery branch at NCI, told Healio.

Goff and colleagues noticed a shift toward lower response rates in trials that began treating patients around 2010 or later. This trend coincided with the approval and increased use of new immunotherapies and molecularly targeted treatments.

“We wanted to go back and look at why our initial approximate 50% overall response rate was not holding true in the era of newer treatments,” Goff said. “We didn’t want to just assume it was because of the availability of these new drugs and find a holistic way to demonstrate their effects on TIL therapy.”

READ THE ORIGINAL FULL ARTICLE