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National Cancer Institute oncologist Steven Rosenberg became interested in the body’s potential to fight cancer after meeting a patient whose tumor spontaneously disappeared thanks to the patient’s immune system in 1968. It took decades for that kernel of an idea to blossom into a novel TIL therapy.
Rosenberg’s TIL therapy was an idea ahead of its time. In fact, its foundations date back to ancient times.
Early reports of cancer going into sudden remission after infection date back to ancient Egypt, and by the 19th century, scientists began to suspect that an awakened immune system might be involved. In 1891, New York City bone surgeon William Bradley Corey found that a patient’s tumor had a Streptococcus and Serratia The treatment was a bacterial treatment. It seemed to work, with tumors reportedly shrinking or disappearing in more than 1,000 patients. But many doctors were wary of infecting people with potentially dangerous bacteria. There were also concerns that no one really knew why or how Corey’s treatment worked. So cancer immunotherapy stalled.
But throughout the 20th century, scientists have unraveled (or at least begun to unravel) the mysteries of the immune system; the immune system is still very much a mystery. For example, in 1967, a year before Rosenberg’s realization, immunologists discovered the existence of T cells and their role in immunity. In the last decade or so, advances have led to victories for cancer patients. In 2011, a class of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors, which keep cancer-fighting immune cells in attack mode, became available for the first time. In 2017, the FDA approved the first cancer treatment, called CAR T-cell therapy, which uses genetically engineered T cells taken from the patient. This therapy has been successful in treating blood cancers such as leukemia. Now, TIL therapy targets solid tumors.
For now, the therapy is only approved for advanced melanoma, but studies suggest that TIL therapy may also be effective in other types of solid tumors. Many questions remain about how the immune system fights cancer, and the story is far from over. One big question remains: Why do treatments often work for some patients but not others? We will keep you updated as we learn the answers.
