Perspectives of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte treatment in solid tumors

• Main Authors: Shuhang Wang, Jingwei Sun, Kun Chen, Peiwen Ma, Qi Lei, Shujun Xing, Zhongzheng Cao, Shujun Sun, Zicheng Yu, Yarong Liu, Ning Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021-06-01
• Series: BMC Medicine
• Subjects: Tumor infiltration lymphocyte; Cancer treatment; Immunotherapy; Gene editing; Clinical trials
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-02006-4

Abstract Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is a type of adoptive cellular therapy by harvesting infiltrated lymphocytes from tumors, culturing and amplifying them in vitro and then infusing back to treat patients. Its diverse TCR clonality, superior tumor-homing ability, and low off-target toxicity endow TIL therapy unique advantages in treating solid tumors compared with other adoptive cellular therapies. Nevertheless, the successful application of TIL therapy currently is still limited to several types of tumors. Herein in this review, we summarize the fundamental work in the field of TIL therapy and the current landscape and advances of TIL clinical trials worldwide. Moreover, the limitations of the current TIL regimen have been discussed and the opportunities and challenges in the development of next-generation TIL are highlighted. Finally, the future directions of TIL therapy towards a broader clinical application have been proposed.