OnCo
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Steven A. Rosenberg

Father of cancer immunotherapy: first to cure patients with IL-2 and with their own tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes.

Pioneered IL-2, TIL therapy and gene-modified T cells over four decades at NCI; his branch's TIL work led to lifileucel and to neoantigen-specific TCR-T against KRAS and TP53 mutations.

Role
Chief, Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research
Specialisms
Adoptive cell therapyTIL therapyNeoantigen-specific T cells

Papers

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TitleJournalYear
Cancer regression in patients after transfer of genetically engineered lymphocytesScience2006
T-cell transfer therapy targeting mutant KRAS in cancerNew England Journal of Medicine2016

Key papers

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translationalJournal of Clinical Oncology 2021changed practice
C-144-01: lifileucel, tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes grown from a patient's own tumour, in melanoma after checkpoint inhibitors have failed

Lifileucel proved that Steven Rosenberg's decades-old TIL concept could be industrialised into a licensed product and gave patients with checkpoint-refractory melanoma, who otherwise have few options, a chance of durable remission. It is the first cell therapy approved for any solid tumour. The treatment requires surgery to harvest tumour, hospitalisation for lymphodepletion and IL-2, and specialised centres, so its reach is limited.

Connected

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cancers

2
Colorectal cancerMelanoma

technologies

3
Cytokines & engineered cytokinesTCR-T cell therapyTIL therapy

targets

2
KRASTP53

drugs

1
ApprovedTIL cell therapy
Lifileucel · Amtagvi

institutions

2
National Cancer Institute (NIH)NCI Center for Cancer Research (intramural programme)

key papers

1
C-144-01: lifileucel, tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes grown from a patient's own tumour, in melanoma after checkpoint inhibitors have failed