Since opening its doors more than 100 years ago, Aurora St. Luke's
Medical Center has become an award-winning tertiary care center, dedicated to
finding new and better ways to provide patient-centered medical care.
Following in the medical center's rich tradition of innovation and
advancement, the Immunotherapy Program at Aurora St. Luke's was developed
20 years ago to conduct research and offer customized treatments for
cancer patients.
A new study for patients with melanoma
Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center is one of the first institutions in
the world to offer a new skin cancer research study that trains the
patient’s immune system to kill cancer cells. The Young Tumor-Infiltrating
Lymphocyte (Y-TIL) trial is a phase 2 clinical trial being offered with
technical support from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda,
Md.
The early results from a similar trial at the NCI are exciting for
patients with stage-four metastatic melanoma. Published reports for the
trial show a 51 percent response rate.
To qualify, all patients must be diagnosed with stage-four metastatic
melanoma. During the trial blood is drawn from the patient, along with a
sample of the tumor. The T cells, which are the immune system’s killer
cells, are extracted from the tumor and re-educated to attack the cancer
cells. The patient’s normal immune system is then temporarily suppressed
using chemotherapy, and the newly trained T cells are returned to the
patient. The T cells are expected to survive, replicate and kill the
cancer.
This study is supported by a grant from Ann’s Hope Foundation and by
Aurora Health Care. The Immunotherapy Program is supported by a grant from
the Northwestern Mutual Foundation.
To speak with an Immunotherapy nurse coordinator, please call
414-649-5818.
Stimulating the immune system to fight cancer
A new study for patients with melanoma