human papillomavirus-specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

Human papillomavirus-specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (HPV-TILs) represent an autologous adoptive cell therapy (ACT) specifically engineered to target malignancies driven by high-risk HPV strains, most commonly HPV-16 and HPV-18. The therapeutic process involves the isolation of naturally occurring T cells from a patient's tumor tissue, followed by an ex vivo expansion and selection process that identifies T-cell populations with high reactivity against the viral oncoproteins E6 and E7. These oncoproteins are essential for the maintenance of the malignant phenotype in HPV-associated cancers and are not expressed in healthy tissues, providing a highly specific target. The treatment regimen typically includes a lymphodepleting preparative chemotherapy (such as cyclophosphamide and fludarabine) followed by a single infusion of the expanded HPV-reactive TILs and subsequent administration of high-dose interleukin-2 (aldesleukin) to promote T-cell persistence and activity. Clinical research, notably led by the National Cancer Institute, has demonstrated that this approach can induce durable complete regressions in patients with metastatic cervical, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers who have failed standard therapies.

Other names

HPV-specific TILsHPV-reactive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytesautologous HPV-specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes