New TIL Therapy Brings Hope to Patients with Advanced Melanoma at IU Health Simon Cancer Center

Innovative cellular therapy offers a new option for patients who have exhausted standard treatments

INDIANAPOLIS — A new therapy available at the IU Health Simon Cancer Center is offering renewed hope for patients with advanced melanoma who have run out of treatment options.

Starting this month, IU Health Simon Cancer Center will offer Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) Therapy, an advanced cellular immunotherapy for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma whose cancer has progressed despite previous treatment.

The treatment represents the latest advancement in a field that melanoma specialists at IU Health have helped shape for decades.

“This is the culmination of years of research and progress in cellular therapy and immunotherapy,” said oncologist Dr. Theodore Logan, a nationally recognized melanoma specialist at IU Health Simon Cancer Center. “For patients whose disease has continued to grow despite other therapies, TIL provides another opportunity to harness the power of their own immune system to fight cancer.”

TIL Therapy works by turning the patient’s own immune cells into a personalized cancer treatment. The process begins with the surgical removal of a portion of the patient’s tumor. Immune cells found within the tumor are then isolated and multiplied into billions of cancer-fighting cells in a specialized laboratory before being returned to IU Health for infusion through the Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program.

Offering TIL Therapy requires extensive coordination across multiple specialties and programs. Medical oncologists, surgical oncologists and cellular therapy experts work together throughout every phase of treatment. The program also relies on the expertise of IU Health’s Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, which has extensive experience delivering advanced cellular therapies. In addition to Dr. Logan, the team supporting this program includes:

• Noah Richardson, MD – Hematologist/oncologist with special clinical practice and research in melanoma
• Karl Billimoria, MD – Surgical oncologist with a clinical practice focused on melanoma and skin cancers
• Zachary Meyer, MD – Hematologist/oncologist specializing in bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy
• Varun Mittal, MD – Hematologist/oncologist specializing in blood and marrow transplantation and cellular therapy
• Jennifer Schwartz, MD – Hematologist/oncologist specializing in bone marrow transplant, CAR T cell therapy and treatment of blood cancers
• Zainul Hasanali, MD, PhD – Plasma cell malignancies oncologist specializing in MGUS, smoldering multiple myeloma, multiple myeloma, plasma cell leukemia and AL amyloidosis
• Anne Renteria, MD – Hematologist/oncologist specializing in stem cell transplants and CAR T-cell therapies

“This is not a treatment that can be offered by a single physician or even a single department,” said Logan. “It takes a highly coordinated team with expertise in melanoma, surgery, cellular therapy and supportive care. That’s what makes academic cancer centers like ours uniquely positioned to bring therapies like this to patients.”

The launch builds on IU Health Simon Cancer Center’s longstanding leadership in melanoma research and treatment. Logan and his colleagues have been involved in immunotherapy and cellular therapy research for many years, helping advance treatment options for patients with advanced melanoma. While TIL Therapy is not appropriate for every patient, it offers an important new option for those who have exhausted standard therapies.

“For some patients, hearing that there are no remaining treatment options can be devastating,” said Dr. Richardson. “TIL Therapy gives us another tool to help patients whose melanoma has continued to progress. That’s meaningful for patients, families and the physicians caring for them.”

As Indiana’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, IU Health Simon Cancer Center continues to expand access to innovative therapies, clinical trials and multidisciplinary expertise for patients across Indiana and beyond.

Patients interested in learning more about TIL Therapy should speak with their oncologist or click here for additional information.