TIL therapy was notably pioneered by Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD.
The Pioneer of TIL Therapy
Based on the provided reference, Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, a recipient of the 2013 Giants of Cancer Care® award, is credited with notably pioneering Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) therapy.
Origins at the National Cancer Institute
TIL therapy was initially developed at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) starting in the late 1980s. This foundational work involved a series of seminal studies focused on harnessing the body's own immune cells to fight cancer.
Key Steps in Early Development
The early development, led by researchers including Dr. Rosenberg at the NCI, involved a critical process:
- Extracting lymphocytes directly from tumor tissue resected from patients.
- These lymphocytes, known as Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs), are cells that have naturally migrated into the tumor environment.
- The early research focused on patients with metastatic melanoma.
This pioneering work laid the groundwork for the TIL therapy approaches used today, demonstrating the potential of these tumor-resident immune cells in cancer treatment.
