{"entity":{"id":"tils","kind":"term","name":"Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)","aka":["tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes","tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte"],"tldr":"Immune cells that have got inside the tumour. More of them means better outcomes in triple-negative breast cancer.","summary":"Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are immune cells that have got inside the tumour, and in Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) more of them means better outcomes. Stromal TILs are scored on ordinary H&E slides by the International TILs Working Group method, and their strong prognostic signal in stage I disease has driven de-escalation trials, captured in the idea on TIL-based omission of chemotherapy in stage I TNBC. TILs are also the raw material for TIL therapy, so the term links to that technology and to Digital pathology & AI. It is referenced by Histopathology & immunohistochemistry, Spatial-omics-guided treatment selection, the TNBC roadmap, Carsten Denkert and Sherene Loi, and by the bottlenecks on cold tumours and on predicting immunotherapy response.","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor-infiltrating_lymphocytes","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor-infiltrating_lymphocytes"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["tnbc"],"sections":[],"technologies":["til-therapy","digital-pathology-ai"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Biomarkers"},"route":"/terms/tils/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"medullary-pattern-breast-carcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Carcinoma with medullary pattern (medullary breast cancer)","route":"/cancers/medullary-pattern-breast-carcinoma/"},{"id":"tnbc-early","kind":"cancer","name":"Early triple-negative breast cancer","route":"/cancers/tnbc-early/"},{"id":"gallbladder","kind":"cancer","name":"Gallbladder cancer","route":"/cancers/gallbladder/"},{"id":"tnbc-immunomodulatory","kind":"cancer","name":"Immunomodulatory triple-negative breast cancer (IM)","route":"/cancers/tnbc-immunomodulatory/"},{"id":"tnbc","kind":"cancer","name":"Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)","route":"/cancers/tnbc/"}],"technology":[{"id":"digital-pathology-ai","kind":"technology","name":"Digital pathology & AI","route":"/technologies/digital-pathology-ai/"},{"id":"histopathology-ihc","kind":"technology","name":"Histopathology & immunohistochemistry","route":"/technologies/histopathology-ihc/"},{"id":"spatial-omics-guided-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Spatial-omics-guided treatment selection","route":"/technologies/spatial-omics-guided-therapy/"},{"id":"til-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"TIL therapy","route":"/technologies/til-therapy/"}],"term":[{"id":"immune-exclusion","kind":"term","name":"Immune exclusion","route":"/terms/immune-exclusion/"},{"id":"immune-surveillance-immunoediting","kind":"term","name":"Immune surveillance and cancer immunoediting","route":"/terms/immune-surveillance-immunoediting/"},{"id":"interferon-gamma-signature","kind":"term","name":"Interferon-gamma gene signature (T-cell-inflamed signature)","route":"/terms/interferon-gamma-signature/"},{"id":"pd-l1-cps-10-tnbc","kind":"term","name":"PD-L1 combined positive score 10 in triple-negative breast cancer","route":"/terms/pd-l1-cps-10-tnbc/"},{"id":"t-cell","kind":"term","name":"T cell","route":"/terms/t-cell/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-binnewies-tumor-immune-microenvironment-natmed-2018","kind":"paper","name":"Binnewies 2018: understanding the tumour immune microenvironment for effective therapy","route":"/key-papers/paper-binnewies-tumor-immune-microenvironment-natmed-2018/"},{"id":"paper-c-144-01-lifileucel-melanoma-jco-2021","kind":"paper","name":"C-144-01: lifileucel, tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes grown from a patient's own tumour, in melanoma after checkpoint inhibitors have failed","route":"/key-papers/paper-c-144-01-lifileucel-melanoma-jco-2021/"},{"id":"paper-neyaz-pdl1-gallbladder-histopathology-2018","kind":"paper","name":"Clinical relevance of PD-L1 expression in gallbladder cancer: a potential target for therapy","route":"/key-papers/paper-neyaz-pdl1-gallbladder-histopathology-2018/"},{"id":"paper-sigurjonsdottir-sp142-22c3-tnbc-bcr-2023","kind":"paper","name":"Comparison of SP142 and 22C3 PD-L1 assays in a population-based cohort of triple-negative breast cancer patients in the context of their clinically established scoring algorithms","route":"/key-papers/paper-sigurjonsdottir-sp142-22c3-tnbc-bcr-2023/"},{"id":"paper-galon-immune-contexture-colorectal-science-2006","kind":"paper","name":"Galon 2006: the type, density and location of immune cells in colorectal tumours predict outcome","route":"/key-papers/paper-galon-immune-contexture-colorectal-science-2006/"},{"id":"paper-patil-gallbladder-immune-microenvironment-aimm-2021","kind":"paper","name":"Immune microenvironment in gallbladder adenocarcinomas","route":"/key-papers/paper-patil-gallbladder-immune-microenvironment-aimm-2021/"},{"id":"paper-nepal-gallbladder-microenvironment-subtypes-j-hepatol-2021","kind":"paper","name":"Integrative molecular characterisation of gallbladder cancer reveals micro-environment-associated subtypes","route":"/key-papers/paper-nepal-gallbladder-microenvironment-subtypes-j-hepatol-2021/"},{"id":"paper-li-timer-tumour-infiltrating-immune-cells-cancerres-2017","kind":"paper","name":"Li 2017: TIMER, a web server for estimating immune cells in tumour genomic data","route":"/key-papers/paper-li-timer-tumour-infiltrating-immune-cells-cancerres-2017/"},{"id":"paper-li-timer2-nar-2020","kind":"paper","name":"Li 2020: TIMER2.0 for analysis of tumour-infiltrating immune cells","route":"/key-papers/paper-li-timer2-nar-2020/"},{"id":"paper-park-tils-untreated-early-tnbc-ann-oncol-2019","kind":"paper","name":"Prognostic value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy","route":"/key-papers/paper-park-tils-untreated-early-tnbc-ann-oncol-2019/"},{"id":"paper-albrecht-pdl1-western-gallbladder-cancers-2021","kind":"paper","name":"Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is an independent negative prognosticator in Western-world gallbladder cancer","route":"/key-papers/paper-albrecht-pdl1-western-gallbladder-cancers-2021/"},{"id":"paper-lehmann-tnbctype-4-refinement-plos-one-2016","kind":"paper","name":"Refinement of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Molecular Subtypes: Implications for Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Selection","route":"/key-papers/paper-lehmann-tnbctype-4-refinement-plos-one-2016/"},{"id":"paper-rohaas-til-vs-ipilimumab-nejm-2022","kind":"paper","name":"Rohaas 2022: the first randomised trial of TIL therapy, against ipilimumab, in advanced melanoma","route":"/key-papers/paper-rohaas-til-vs-ipilimumab-nejm-2022/"},{"id":"paper-gruosso-tnbc-spatial-immune-microenvironments-jci-2019","kind":"paper","name":"Spatially distinct tumor immune microenvironments stratify triple-negative breast cancers","route":"/key-papers/paper-gruosso-tnbc-spatial-immune-microenvironments-jci-2019/"},{"id":"paper-thorsson-immune-landscape-of-cancer-immunity-2018","kind":"paper","name":"Thorsson 2018: the immune landscape of cancer across 10,000 tumours","route":"/key-papers/paper-thorsson-immune-landscape-of-cancer-immunity-2018/"},{"id":"paper-tumeh-pd1-adaptive-immune-resistance-nature-2014","kind":"paper","name":"Tumeh 2014: PD-1 blockade works by releasing T cells already present at the tumour edge","route":"/key-papers/paper-tumeh-pd1-adaptive-immune-resistance-nature-2014/"},{"id":"paper-loi-tils-pooled-early-tnbc-jco-2019","kind":"paper","name":"Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and prognosis: a pooled individual patient analysis of early-stage triple-negative breast cancers","route":"/key-papers/paper-loi-tils-pooled-early-tnbc-jco-2019/"},{"id":"paper-leon-ferre-tils-tnbc-no-chemotherapy-jama-2024","kind":"paper","name":"Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer","route":"/key-papers/paper-leon-ferre-tils-tnbc-no-chemotherapy-jama-2024/"},{"id":"paper-denkert-tils-neoadjuvant-pooled-lancet-oncol-2018","kind":"paper","name":"Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and prognosis in different subtypes of breast cancer: a pooled analysis of 3771 patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy","route":"/key-papers/paper-denkert-tils-neoadjuvant-pooled-lancet-oncol-2018/"},{"id":"paper-bareche-tnbc-microenvironment-jnci-2020","kind":"paper","name":"Unraveling triple-negative breast cancer tumor microenvironment heterogeneity: towards an optimized treatment approach","route":"/key-papers/paper-bareche-tnbc-microenvironment-jnci-2020/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"tnbc-history","kind":"roadmap","name":"TNBC roadmap: from 'nothing to target' to ADC + immunotherapy first line","route":"/roadmaps/tnbc-history/"},{"id":"tnbc-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Triple-negative breast cancer roadmap: from a remainder defined by three negative tests to immunotherapy, antibody-drug conjugates and the residual disease problem","route":"/roadmaps/tnbc-roadmap/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-tnbc-de-escalation-for-exceptional-responders","kind":"idea","name":"Give exceptional responders less: pembrolizumab omission after complete response, anthracycline-free regimens and chemotherapy omission in lymphocyte-rich stage I disease","route":"/ideas/idea-tnbc-de-escalation-for-exceptional-responders/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-tertiary-lymphoid-induction","kind":"idea","name":"Grow immune command posts inside tumours","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-tertiary-lymphoid-induction/"},{"id":"idea-bio1-organoid-immune-coculture","kind":"idea","name":"Grow tumour organoids together with the patient's own immune cells","route":"/ideas/idea-bio1-organoid-immune-coculture/"},{"id":"idea-bio1-spatial-clone-immune-map","kind":"idea","name":"Map which tumour clones sit next to which immune cells before choosing therapy","route":"/ideas/idea-bio1-spatial-clone-immune-map/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-til-reactivity-selection","kind":"idea","name":"Select patients for cell therapy by whether their tumour holds reactive T cells","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-til-reactivity-selection/"},{"id":"idea-tr2-spatial-biomarker-standards","kind":"idea","name":"Standards for spatial and multiplex tissue biomarkers before they reach the clinic","route":"/ideas/idea-tr2-spatial-biomarker-standards/"},{"id":"idea-til-guided-deescalation","kind":"idea","name":"TIL-based omission of chemotherapy in stage I TNBC","route":"/ideas/idea-til-guided-deescalation/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-spatial-signature-cdx","kind":"idea","name":"Turn the map of immune cells inside a tumour into a standardised test","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-spatial-signature-cdx/"}],"trial":[{"id":"a-brave","kind":"trial","name":"A-BRAVE","route":"/trials/a-brave/"},{"id":"gepardouze","kind":"trial","name":"GeparDouze / NSABP B-59","route":"/trials/gepardouze/"},{"id":"neopact","kind":"trial","name":"NeoPACT","route":"/trials/neopact/"},{"id":"phoenix","kind":"trial","name":"PHOENIX DDR/Anti-PD-L1","route":"/trials/phoenix/"},{"id":"scan-b","kind":"trial","name":"SCAN-B (Sweden Cancerome Analysis Network - Breast)","route":"/trials/scan-b/"}],"person":[{"id":"carsten-denkert","kind":"person","name":"Carsten Denkert","route":"/people/carsten-denkert/"},{"id":"loi-sherene","kind":"person","name":"Sherene Loi","route":"/people/loi-sherene/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-tme-immunosuppression","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Cold tumours and the immunosuppressive microenvironment","route":"/bottlenecks/b-tme-immunosuppression/"},{"id":"b-immunotherapy-response","kind":"bottleneck","name":"No one can predict who responds to immunotherapy","route":"/bottlenecks/b-immunotherapy-response/"}],"pathway":[{"id":"immune-desert-exclusion","kind":"pathway","name":"Cold tumours: immune deserts and exclusion","route":"/pathways/immune-desert-exclusion/"},{"id":"t-cell-exhaustion","kind":"pathway","name":"T-cell exhaustion","route":"/pathways/t-cell-exhaustion/"},{"id":"cancer-immunity-cycle","kind":"pathway","name":"The cancer-immunity cycle","route":"/pathways/cancer-immunity-cycle/"},{"id":"tumor-microenvironment","kind":"pathway","name":"Tumour microenvironment (TME)","route":"/pathways/tumor-microenvironment/"}],"biomarker":[{"id":"pd-l1-ic-score","kind":"biomarker","name":"PD-L1 IC score (immune-cell score, SP142)","route":"/biomarkers/pd-l1-ic-score/"}]}}