Own immune cells shrink tumors in advanced melanoma trial
NCT ID NCT01005745
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested a new way to treat metastatic melanoma by using a patient's own immune cells. Doctors removed a tumor, grew special immune cells (TILs) from it in a lab, then gave them back to the patient along with high-dose IL-2. Before the cell infusion, patients received strong chemotherapy to make room for the new cells. The main goal was to see if this approach was feasible and safe. Nineteen patients took part, and researchers measured whether the cells could grow and whether tumors shrank.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) plus high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could offer a new treatment option for advanced melanoma that has spread, potentially shrinking tumors in some patients.
- What could go wrong
- This was a very small, early-phase trial with only 19 participants. The treatment involves intense chemotherapy and high-dose IL-2, which can cause severe side effects. Not all patients responded.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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19 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Oct 2009
- Finished
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Aug 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have unresectable metastatic stage IV melanoma or stage III in-transit or regional nodal disease. * Residual measurable disease after resection of target lesion(s) for TIL growth * Clinical performance status of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 0 -1. ECOG performance status of 0-1 will be inferred if the patient's level of energy is ≥ 50% of baseline. * Patients may be treatment-naïve or may have been previously treated for metastatic disease. * Patients with a negative pregnancy test (urine or serum) must be documented at screening for women of childbearing potential (WOCBP). * Adequate renal, hepatic and hematologic function, including creatinine of less than or equal to 1.7 gm/dL, total bilirubin less than or equal to 2.0 mg/dL, except in patients with Gilbert's Syndrome who must have a total bilirubin less than 3.0 mg/dL, aspartic transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) of less than 3X institutional upper limit of normal (ULN), hemoglobin of 8 gm/dL or more, white blood count (WBC) of 3000 per mm³ and total granulocytes of 1000 per mm³ or more, and platelets of 100,000 per mm³ or more. * Patients must have a positive screening Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody titre on screening test. * Patients with antibiotic allergies per se are not excluded; although the production of TIL for adoptive transfer includes antibiotics, extensive washing after harvest will minimize systemic exposure to antibiotics. * Patients that had previously grown sterile, validated TIL under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) conditions on Moffitt Clinical trial protocol 15375 (Use of Excess Melanoma Tumor Specimens Not Required for Diagnostic Purposes for Validation of Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte \[TIL\] Growth Procedures) meeting the above criteria may be consented and enrolled in the current trial using the previously established TIL stored in the Cell therapies Core facility for up to 2 years. * At screening, patients with ≤ 3 untreated central nervous system (CNS) metastases may be included provided none of the untreated lesions are \> 1 cm in greatest dimension, and there is no peri-tumoral edema present on brain imaging (magnetic resonance imaging \[MRI\] or computed tomography \[CT\] if MRI is contraindicated). * At screening, patients with CNS metastases treated with either surgical resection and/or radiation therapy may be included. Patients may be included if the largest lesion is ≤ 1 cm, and there is no evidence of progressive CNS disease on brain imaging at least 28 days after treatment. * At screening, patients may be included if the largest lesion is \> 1 cm or \> 3 in number, and there is no evidence of progressive CNS disease on brain imaging at least 90 days after treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy. * All laboratory and imaging studies must be completed and satisfactory within 30 days of signing the consent document. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with active systemic infections requiring intravenous antibiotics, coagulation disorders or other major medical illnesses of the cardiovascular, respiratory or immune system are excluded. * Patients testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) titre, Hepatitis B surface antigen, Hepatitis C antibody, Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) I or II antibody, or both rapid plasma reagent (RPR) and fluorescein treponemal antibodies (FTA) positive are excluded. * Patients who are pregnant or nursing * Patients needing chronic, immunosuppressive systemic steroids * Patients with autoimmune diseases that require immunosuppressive medications * Presence of a significant psychiatric disease, which in the opinion of the principal investigator or his designee, would prevent adequate informed consent or render immunotherapy unsafe or contraindicated * Patients with \> 3 untreated CNS metastases or evidence of peri-tumoral edema will be excluded. * Patients with ≤ 3 untreated CNS metastases but with at least one lesion \>1 cm or peri-tumoral edema will be excluded. * Patients with treated CNS metastases \> 1 cm or \> 3 in number will be excluded if there is evidence of progressive CNS disease on brain imaging at least 90 days after treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy. * Inability to comprehend and give informed consent
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States
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