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Isolation and expansion of lymphocytes from gastrointestinal tumour tissue
1Academic Unit of Surgery, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, UK.
Adoptive cellular immunotherapy (ACI) with tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) has met with some success in patients suffering from malignant melanoma. However, the success of this approach hinges on the successful isolation and in vitro expansion of TIL. Viable, IL-2 responsive TIL were obtained from only two of five gastrointestinal primary or 'non-lymph node' secondary gastrointestinal tumours. In contrast, proliferating TIL were successfully expanded from four out of five lymph node secondary deposits from gastrointestinal cancer patients, but these TIL were non-cytolytic. Conversely, proliferating lymphocytes were generated from six out of seven malignant effusions from gastrointestinal cancer patients in the late phase of their disease. Despite the presence of effective anti-tumour cytotoxic activity in one such culture, these lymphocytes failed to proliferate sufficiently for potential clinical use. Consequent upon these findings, we are sceptical that ACI using mononuclear cells infiltrating primary or secondary sites from patients with gastrointestinal cancer will be feasible.
Adoptive cellular immunotherapy (ACI) with tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) has met with some success in patients suffering from malignant melanoma. However, the success of this approach hinges on the successful isolation and in vitro expansion of TIL. Viable, IL-2 responsive TIL were obtained from only two of five gastrointestinal primary or 'non-lymph node' secondary gastrointestinal tumours. In contrast, proliferating TIL were successfully expanded from four out of five lymph node secondary deposits from gastrointestinal cancer patients, but these TIL were non-cytolytic. Conversely, proliferating lymphocytes were generated from six out of seven malignant effusions from gastrointestinal cancer patients in the late phase of their disease. Despite the presence of effective anti-tumour cytotoxic activity in one such culture, these lymphocytes failed to proliferate sufficiently for potential clinical use. Consequent upon these findings, we are sceptical that ACI using mononuclear cells infiltrating primary or secondary sites from patients with gastrointestinal cancer will be feasible.