Moffitt Plays Pivotal Role in FDA Approval of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy for Advanced Melanoma

A first-of-its-kind cellular immunotherapy pioneered at Moffitt Cancer Center has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration and is now available for patients with advanced melanoma. Lifileucel is the first tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy, or TIL, approved for solid tumors.

Using A Seaweed Sugar to Trigger Immune Responses That Suppress Melanomas

Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, led by cancer biologist Eric Lau, Ph.D., have identified a relatively natural way to increase the numbers and antitumor activities of TILs. In a new article published in Nature Cancer, Lau’s team demonstrates how L-fucose, a nontoxic dietary plant sugar that is enriched in red and brown seaweeds, can increase TILs, promote antitumor immunity and improve the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Adoptive Cell Therapy Plus Checkpoint Inhibitors Show Promise in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Researchers in Moffitt Cancer Center’s Lung Cancer Center of Excellence believe a combination of checkpoint inhibitors with adoptive cell therapy could be the answer for non-small cell lung cancer patients. Results of their investigator-initiated phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab in combination with tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy was published today in Nature Medicine.