By Marian Auriemma
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy (TIL) is a groundbreaking treatment that uses a patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Fox Chase, a leading National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, offers this therapy. Dr. Rashmi Khanal (above) says that TIL therapy can give patients with aggressive disease more hope for the future.
When Hope Feels Out of Reach, a New Option Emerges
For people facing advanced melanoma, the journey can feel overwhelming. Standard treatments like immunotherapy and targeted therapy have helped many patients, but sometimes these treatments stop working. That’s when options can feel limited.
Now, a new type of treatment called tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is offering patients with melanoma more hope and another chance.
At Fox Chase Cancer Center, one of the few institutions in the greater Philadelphia area offering TIL therapy, doctors see TIL as more than just another treatment. It represents the next chapter in cancer care, one that takes the immune system’s power and directs it with greater precision.
Why Fox Chase Is Leading the Way in TIL Therapy
At Fox Chase, TIL therapy is not the work of a single department but of a coordinated team: surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, and specialists in cellular therapeutics collaborate at every step. This multidisciplinary model — combined with decades of institutional experience in cellular therapies and an inpatient unit equipped for complex cellular treatments — allows Fox Chase to deliver truly personalized medicine. Patients can feel confident they are in expert hands.
Inside the Science of TIL Therapy
TIL therapy is a groundbreaking treatment that uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer. Doctors remove a small piece of a patient’s tumor and collect special immune cells called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from it. These cells are then grown in a lab until there are billions of them. Those cells are then infused into the patient in a single session. Because TIL uses a patient’s own tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, the therapy tailors immune attack specifically to that person’s cancer.
“This is a high-risk, high-reward therapy,” says Rashmi Khanal, MD, Associate Professor in the Department of Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapies at Fox Chase. “But for patients who may feel like they’ve run out of options, TIL therapy can bring real hope.”
Timing Is Everything: Why Early Evaluation Matters
TIL therapy is powerful, but it also takes time to prepare. From surgery to infusion, the process can take up to two months. That’s why physicians at Fox Chase stress the importance of patients being evaluated as early as possible. This evaluation would ideally be before a patient’s first-line treatment stops working.
“In as little as six to eight weeks, someone with advanced melanoma could decline so much that it’s no longer safe to put them through TIL therapy,” explains Anthony Olszanski, MD, RPh, Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Department of Hematology/Oncology, as well as the Co-Director of the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program at Fox Chase.
For those living with metastatic melanoma, asking about TIL therapy early could make all the difference.
From Few Options to a Future of Possibility
Just a decade ago, patients with metastatic melanoma had very few treatment options, and survival was often measured in months. Today, many patients are living longer thanks to immunotherapy. Now, TIL therapy is pushing those boundaries even further.
Clinical trials are already exploring new versions of TIL and other cell-based therapies, opening possibilities for even more patients in the future.
“Years ago, patients with metastatic melanoma had almost no options,” says Jeffrey Farma, MD, FACS, Chair of the Department of Surgery and Surgical Director of the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program at Fox Chase. “Today, not only do some achieve remission with immunotherapy, but for those who don’t, TIL therapy gives us another powerful way forward.”
