TIL therapy, short for Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte therapy, is an advanced immunotherapy type that uses your immune system to fight cancer.
Some immune cells called T cells are already trying to fight the cancer inside your tumors, but they’re often not strong or numerous enough. TIL therapy collects these special cells, multiplies them in a lab, and reintroduces them in much larger numbers into your body to help your immune system target the cancer more effectively.
The process starts by removing a small piece of your tumor through surgery. Doctors extract the T cells from the tissue that has already entered the tumor. These cells are then grown in large numbers in a laboratory. Before they are put back into your body, you receive chemotherapy to lower your immune system, making space for the new, stronger T cells. After the cells are infused, you’re also given a high dose of IL-2 to help the new cells survive and do their job.
TIL therapy is a promising treatment, but it comes with significant challenges. It involves a complex, multi-step process including surgery, chemotherapy, and high-dose IL-2, which can cause severe side effects like infections, organ stress, and fluid leakage. Not all patients qualify—it’s limited to those in good health with tumors that can be surgically accessed. It’s also time-consuming, expensive, and currently only approved for some instances of advanced melanoma, making access difficult for many.
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