Skip to main content
NCBI home page
NIHPA Author Manuscripts logoLink to NIHPA Author Manuscripts
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Feb 12.
Published in final edited form as: N Engl J Med. 2008 Sep 4;359(10):1072. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc081511

Cancer Immunotherapy

Steven A Rosenberg 1, Mark E Dudley 1, Nicholas P Restifo 1
PMCID: PMC6372305  NIHMSID: NIHMS1004449  PMID: 18768956

To the Editor: In his review of cancer immunology, Finn (June 19 issue)1 states that the results of immunotherapy involving intravenous administration of tumor-specific autologous T cells (adoptive cell therapy) are “marginal,” whereas the results of trials of cancer vaccines are “encouraging.” We do not believe this conclusion accurately reflects the state of the field.

In 1994, we reported a 34% objective response rate among patients with metastatic melanoma who were treated with adoptive cell therapy.2 These results have steadily improved. Adding lymphocyte-depleting chemotherapy before adoptive cell therapy increased the objective-response rate to 49%,3 and adding radiotherapy increased the objective-response rate to 72% (unpublished data). With the use of cancer vaccines, the objective-response rate ranges from 3 to 7%,4 and with the use of interleukin-2 or anti–cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated antigen 4, it ranges from 13 to 17%. Thus, adoptive cell therapy is the most effective immunotherapy in patients with meta-static melanoma.

We have seen no correlation between the bulk of disease and the likelihood of achieving an objective response. The recent report of regression of cancer when adoptive cell therapy was used with peripheral lymphocytes genetically engineered to express antitumor T-cell receptors holds promise for extending the use of adoptive cell therapy to patients with common epithelial cancers.5

References

  • 1.Finn OJ. Cancer immunology. N Engl J Med 2008;358:2704–15. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Rosenberg SA, Yannelli JR, Yang JC, et al. Treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma using autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and interleukin 2. J Natl Cancer Inst 1994; 86:1159–66. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Dudley ME, Wunderlich JR, Robbins PF, et al. Cancer regression and autoimmunity in patients after clonal repopulation with anti-tumor lymphocytes. Science 2002;298:850–4. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Rosenberg SA, Yang JC, Restifo NP. Cancer immunotherapy: moving beyond current vaccines. Nat Med 2004;10:909–15. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Morgan RA, Dudley ME, Wunderlich JR, et al. Cancer regression in patients after transfer of genetically engineered lymphocytes. Science 2006;314:126–9. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

RESOURCES