# TIL therapy

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/til-therapy/  
OnCo record `til-therapy` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Immune cells that have already found their way into the tumour are harvested, grown to billions, and returned.

## Summary

Lifileucel (Amtagvi, Iovance) was approved in 2024 for anti-PD-1-refractory melanoma: ORR 31%, five-year data show durable responses in about a third of responders. Trials in NSCLC (TILVANCE-301), cervical, and head and neck cancer. Next-generation TILs are gene-edited (PD-1 knockout, IL-15 membrane-bound, OBX-115) to reduce IL-2 dependence.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Principle: Surgical harvest → ex vivo expansion of polyclonal tumour-reactive T cells with IL-2 → lymphodepletion → infusion with IL-2 support.
- Since: 2024
- Strengths: Naturally polyclonal against the patient's own neoantigens; Works in solid tumours
- Limitations: Requires resectable tumour and 3-4 week manufacturing; IL-2 toxicity; Single-centre logistics

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor-infiltrating_lymphocytes
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor-infiltrating_lymphocytes
- Besser et al., intent-to-treat analysis of TIL therapy at Sheba (Clin Cancer Res 2013): https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-13-0380

## Connected records

- cancers: [Advanced melanoma (unresectable stage III and stage IV)](https://onco.cc/cancers/advanced-melanoma/), [Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/), [Melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/melanoma/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/)
- fronts: [Cell Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/cell-therapy/)
- drugs: [Aldesleukin (high-dose IL-2)](https://onco.cc/drugs/aldesleukin/), [Lifileucel](https://onco.cc/drugs/lifileucel/), [Tacquell (autologous melanoma-derived tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes)](https://onco.cc/drugs/tacquell/)
- companies: [Iovance Biotherapeutics](https://onco.cc/companies/iovance/), [Obsidian Therapeutics](https://onco.cc/companies/obsidian-therapeutics/), [Turnstone Biologics](https://onco.cc/companies/turnstone-biologics/)
- institutions: [Cancer Center Clínica Universidad de Navarra / CIMA](https://onco.cc/institutions/cun-navarra/), [Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)](https://onco.cc/institutions/chum/), [Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) / Ludwig Institute Lausanne](https://onco.cc/institutions/chuv-lausanne/), [Moffitt Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/moffitt/), [National Cancer Centre Singapore](https://onco.cc/institutions/nccs/), [National Cancer Institute (NIH)](https://onco.cc/institutions/nci/), [NCI Center for Cancer Research (intramural programme)](https://onco.cc/institutions/nci-ccr/), [Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI-AvL)](https://onco.cc/institutions/nki/), [Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital](https://onco.cc/institutions/rigshospitalet/), [Sheba Medical Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/sheba/), [Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer](https://onco.cc/institutions/sitc/), [University College London Hospitals / UCL Cancer Institute](https://onco.cc/institutions/uclh/)
- people: [Amod A. Sarnaik](https://onco.cc/people/amod-sarnaik/), [Gal Markel](https://onco.cc/people/gal-markel/), [Inge Marie Svane](https://onco.cc/people/inge-marie-svane/), [Jacob Schachter](https://onco.cc/people/jacob-schachter/), [John Haanen](https://onco.cc/people/john-haanen/), [Michal Besser](https://onco.cc/people/michal-besser/), [Pamela S. Ohashi](https://onco.cc/people/pamela-ohashi/), [Patrick Hwu](https://onco.cc/people/patrick-hwu/), [Shari Pilon-Thomas](https://onco.cc/people/shari-pilon-thomas/), [Steven A. Rosenberg](https://onco.cc/people/steven-rosenberg/), [Yardena Samuels](https://onco.cc/people/yardena-samuels/)
- key papers: [Adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with metastatic melanoma: intent-to-treat analysis and efficacy after failure to prior immunotherapies](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-besser-til-melanoma-intent-to-treat-ccr-2013/), [C-144-01: lifileucel, tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes grown from a patient's own tumour, in melanoma after checkpoint inhibitors have failed](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-c-144-01-lifileucel-melanoma-jco-2021/), [Rohaas 2022: the first randomised trial of TIL therapy, against ipilimumab, in advanced melanoma](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-rohaas-til-vs-ipilimumab-nejm-2022/)
- technologies: [Cell-therapy release and potency testing](https://onco.cc/technologies/cell-therapy-release-testing/), [Cryopreservation and cell-therapy cold chain](https://onco.cc/technologies/cell-therapy-cold-chain/), [Cytokines & engineered cytokines](https://onco.cc/technologies/cytokine-therapy/)
- trials: [A Study of Lifileucel (Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes) in Adults With Advanced Endometrial Cancer.](https://onco.cc/trials/nct06481592/), [A Study of Lifileucel (Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes) in Adults With Advanced Melanoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07288203/), [C-144-01](https://onco.cc/trials/c-144-01/), [Study of AU-007, A Monoclonal Antibody That Binds to IL-2 and Inhibits IL-2Rα Binding, in Patients With Unresectable Locally Advanced or Metastatic Ca](https://onco.cc/trials/nct05267626/)
- terms: [Immune surveillance and cancer immunoediting](https://onco.cc/terms/immune-surveillance-immunoediting/), [Immunotherapy](https://onco.cc/terms/immunotherapy-term/), [T cell](https://onco.cc/terms/t-cell/), [Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)](https://onco.cc/terms/tils/)
- pairings: [PD-1 failure → TIL therapy](https://onco.cc/pairings/io-then-til/)
- roadmaps: [Cell therapy roadmap: CD19 CAR-T → solid tumours → in vivo CAR](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/cell-therapy-roadmap/), [Immunotherapy roadmap: Coley's toxins → checkpoint inhibitors → engineered immunity](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/immunotherapy-roadmap/)
- bottlenecks: [Manufacturing cost and time for living and radioactive medicines](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-manufacturing-cell-therapy/)
- ideas: [An open interoperability standard for closed automated cell-processing machines](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-reg-closed-manufacturing-interop-standard/), [Digital batch records and AI process control to halve cell therapy batch failures](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-reg-ai-process-control-cell-manufacturing/), [Grow tumour organoids together with the patient's own immune cells](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio1-organoid-immune-coculture/), [Hospital-exemption cell therapies at scale, backed by a shared registry](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-fund-hospital-exemption-registry/), [Public cell-therapy foundries at cancer centres for academics and start-ups](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-reg-public-cell-therapy-foundries/), [Select patients for cell therapy by whether their tumour holds reactive T cells](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio2-til-reactivity-selection/), [Shared modular GMP facilities for academic personalised vaccines and cell products](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-fund-shared-personalised-therapy-gmp/), [Use patient organoids to check a cell therapy will work before infusing it](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio1-organoid-cell-therapy-potency/), [Vaccines aimed only at mutations shared by every tumour cell](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio1-clonal-neoantigen-vaccines/)
- collections: [Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA)](https://onco.cc/collections/melanoma-research-alliance/)
- pathways: [T-cell exhaustion](https://onco.cc/pathways/t-cell-exhaustion/)

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