# Adoptive T cell therapy using antigen-specific CD8+ T cell clones for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma: in vivo persistence, migration, and antitumor effect of transferred T cells

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-yee-ctl-clones-melanoma-pnas-2002/  
OnCo record `paper-yee-ctl-clones-melanoma-pnas-2002` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A small early trial in which ten people with melanoma that had spread were given copies of their own T cells grown to recognise melanoma proteins. The cells lasted in the body, went to the tumours and shrank some of them, with no serious side effects.

## Summary

A phase I study of autologous CD8+ T-cell clones against the melanoma antigens MART-1/Melan-A and gp100 in metastatic melanoma: 43 infusions were given to 10 patients, the first without IL-2 and later ones with low-dose IL-2 (PNAS 2002). The clones persisted in response to low-dose IL-2, localised preferentially to tumour sites and eliminated antigen-positive tumour cells (PNAS 2002).

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-11-05
- Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Year: 2002
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.242600099
- Authors: Yee C, Thompson JA, Byrd D, Riddell SR, Roche P, Celis E, Greenberg PD.
- Findings: 43 infusions of MART-1- or gp100-specific CD8+ T-cell clones were given to 10 patients with no serious toxicity.; Transferred clones persisted in vivo with low-dose IL-2 and preferentially localised to tumour sites.; Regression of individual metastases and minor, mixed or stable responses were seen in 8 of 10 patients with refractory metastatic disease, for up to 21 months.
- What it means: It showed that T cells taken from a patient's blood, selected for one melanoma antigen and grown as clones, can survive after infusion, reach tumours and kill the antigen-carrying cells there.
- Caveats: Ten patients, no control group; responses were minor, mixed or stable disease rather than formal remissions.; Tumour cells that lost the target antigen were not eliminated, a limit of single-antigen targeting.

## Sources

- DOI 10.1073/pnas.242600099: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.242600099
- PubMed 12427970: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12427970/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/melanoma/)
- targets: [gp100 (PMEL)](https://onco.cc/targets/gp100/)
- drugs: [Aldesleukin (high-dose IL-2)](https://onco.cc/drugs/aldesleukin/)
- 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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