Cell therapies are a type of immunotherapy1
Several types of immunotherapies are used to treat cancer, and others are being investigated in clinical trials.
The principal types work as follows:
- Immune checkpoint inhibitors block the immune system’s checkpoints that normally prevent T cells from attacking cancer cells.
- Monoclonal antibodies help the immune system stay active to recognize and attack cancer by targeting specific sites on the surface of cancer cells and marking them for destruction
- Therapeutic vaccines help increase the immune response by introducing cancer-specific antigens (not typically found on noncancerous cells) to the body.
- Immune system modulators help enhance the immune response against cancer using natural immune-regulating agents such as interferons or interleukins.
- Cell therapies are a novel approach to treating cancer: immune cells are collected from the patient, genetically modified (in some therapies), expanded in number, and given back to the patient, where they can attack cancer cells.
Some cell therapies are approved, while others are being investigated2,3
Different cell therapies are designed with different approaches in mind.
To help address hurdles in cell therapy development in solid tumors, companies like Iovance are investigating TIL cell therapy.4
References: 1. National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Immunotherapy to treat cancer. Updated September 24, 2019. Accessed May 9, 2022. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/immunotherapy 2. Sarnaik AA, Hamid O, Khushalani NI, et al. Lifileucel, a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy, in metastatic melanoma. J Clin Oncol. 2021;39(24):2656-2666. 3. Wolf B, Zimmermann S, Arber C, et al. Safety and tolerability of adoptive cell therapy in cancer. Drug Saf. 2019;42(2):315-334. 4. Wardell S, Lienlaf-Moreno M, Blaskovich M, et al. Iovance Gen 2 TIL manufacturing process produces drug products that exhibit favorable quality attributes for adoptive cell transfer across 5 solid tumor indications. Poster P226 presented at: SITC Annual Meeting; November 6-10, 2019; National Harbor, MD.