New cell-based immunotherapy offers hope for patients with metastatic lung cancer 

In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lifileucel as a new cancer treatment that uses a person’s own immune cells for treating the most dangerous types of skin cancer. This tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is the first cell therapy approved by the FDA to treat skin cancer, or melanoma.  

Clinical trials at the OSUCCC – James have shown that this cell therapy is also a promising treatment for patients with advanced stages of lung cancer who have developed resistance to other therapies.   

“Most of these patients, particularly those with stage 4 or metastatic cancer, will eventually develop resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors,” says OSUCCC – James thoracic oncologist and study lead author, Kai He, MD, PhD, who leads cell therapy in solid tumor in the Cell Therapy Program and Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology.

“In such situations, the treatment options are limited, and there is a critical need for developing novel immunotherapy treatments to prolong people’s survival and maintain their quality of life. Lifileucel is a step in that direction.” 

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, accounting for one in five cancer deaths. The second most common cancer in both men and women, it is estimated that nearly 240,000 cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in 2024 in the U.S.  

The current study is the first global phase 2 clinical trial to use this therapy against lung cancer, with patients in many hospitals across the U.S. and Europe.  

“The results so far are very encouraging and promising,” says Dr. He, adding that the team is conducting the additional clinical trial with larger population of patients to validate the finding. If successful, it will provide evidence for potential FDA approval for using lifileucel to treat non-small cell lung cancer.