TIL therapy demands critical timing, robust cellular experience, and multidisciplinary specialists to deliver it safely.

“We’ve made great strides treating melanoma at Fox Chase and have built one of the most comprehensive multidisciplinary teams in the region—an expertise recognized nationally and internationally,” says Jeffrey M. Farma, MD, FACS, Chair and Professor, Department of Surgery, Fox Chase Cancer Center. “I’m thrilled to bring TIL (tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte) therapy to our metastatic melanoma patients who are not responding to their first-line treatment—a cellular therapy which requires critical timing and a highly specialized multidisciplinary team to deliver it.”

Anthony J. Olszanski, MD, RPh, Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Department of Hematology/Oncology; Chief, Section of Solid Tumor Oncology; and Co-Director, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, explains, “Timing is everything in TIL therapy. We want to evaluate patients with previously or currently treated advanced, unresectable, or metastatic melanoma well before they stop responding to first-line treatment.” Olszanski adds, “In as little as six to eight weeks, someone with metastatic melanoma could decline so significantly that it’s no longer safe to put them through TIL therapy.”

Beyond concerns about disease progression, there are logistical hurdles: the sprint to TIL therapy—from referral to infusion—involves weeks of pretesting and administrative work to secure insurance approval, determine patient eligibility, perform surgery to harvest tumor tissue, and send the sample to a biotherapeutic company for processing into TILs. This process can take up to eight weeks before a patient can begin their treatment.

“Evaluating patients early during their melanoma therapy puts them a step ahead of the therapy timeline,” says Rashmi Khanal, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapies, Fox Chase Cancer Center. “This is a high-risk, high-potential-benefit therapy, and Fox Chase has a deep clinical and administrative infrastructure right here with specialization at every patient touchpoint to bring it off safely and successfully.” We at Fox Chase have years of clinical and research experience in cellular therapy. We have FACT accreditation, which is considered the gold standard or benchmark in transplant and cellular therapy.

For example, Fox Chase surgeons have techniques to robotically or laparoscopically obtain melanoma tumor tissue to optimize recovery. During a patient’s in-hospital TIL therapy, they reside in a cellular therapy unit equipped with positive pressure rooms and HEPA filtration to protect from airborne infection.

“For decades, Fox Chase has been deeply involved both in adoptive T-cell clinical trials and the administration of these therapies. As NCCN Melanoma Panel members, we are responsible for developing the latest global guidelines for melanoma testing, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care,” says Olszanski.

Khanal says, “What excites me is that TIL is a cutting-edge therapy for patients who otherwise may have run out of treatment options.”

“Right now, many new forms of cellular therapies for solid tumors are being tested in addition to FDA-approved TIL therapy. We are fortunate that at Fox Chase we have the capability, the expertise, and the passion to advance these therapies. A lot of patients are depending on us,” says Farma.