# Transferred melanoma-specific CD8+ T cells persist, mediate tumor regression, and acquire central memory phenotype

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-chapuis-cd8-central-memory-melanoma-pnas-2012/  
OnCo record `paper-chapuis-cd8-central-memory-melanoma-pnas-2012` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

In eleven people with advanced melanoma given cyclophosphamide and then their own melanoma-targeting T cells, one had a complete remission lasting over three years, and the cells that survived changed into long-lived memory cells.

## Summary

Eleven patients with refractory, progressive metastatic melanoma received cyclophosphamide alone as conditioning before infusion of blood-derived, antigen-specific CD8+ CTL clones, followed by low-dose or high-dose IL-2 (PNAS 2012). The infused clones had an effector memory phenotype, and those that persisted long term acquired central memory qualities in vivo (PNAS 2012).

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-11-05
- Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Year: 2012
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1113748109
- Authors: Chapuis AG, Thompson JA, Margolin KA, Rodmyre R, Lai IP, Dowdy K, Farrar EA, Bhatia S, Sabath DE, Cao J, Li Y, Yee C.
- Findings: No life-threatening toxicities occurred with low-dose IL-2.; Five of 10 evaluable patients had stable disease at 8 weeks, and 1 of 11 had a complete remission continuing for longer than 3 years.; On-target autoimmune events with early skin rashes were seen in patients with stable disease or complete remission at 4 weeks or longer.
- What it means: Infused T-cell clones can convert to a central memory type in the body, which may underlie lasting benefit.
- Caveats: Eleven patients and no control group.

## Sources

- DOI 10.1073/pnas.1113748109: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113748109
- PubMed 22393002: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22393002/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/melanoma/)
- drugs: [Aldesleukin (high-dose IL-2)](https://onco.cc/drugs/aldesleukin/), [Cyclophosphamide](https://onco.cc/drugs/cyclophosphamide/)
- institutions: [Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/fred-hutch/)
- terms: [Endogenous T-cell therapy](https://onco.cc/terms/endogenous-t-cell-therapy/)
- people: [Cassian Yee](https://onco.cc/people/cassian-yee/)
- journals: [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences](https://onco.cc/journals/pnas/)

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