TAMPA, Fla. — A new treatment for advanced melanoma patients is now available following FDA approval last week.
What You Need To Know
- TIL therapy takes advantage of the immune system’s ability to seek out and fight cancer cells
- Melanoma tumors are surgically removed and then sent to a manufacturing facility where the immune cells, known as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, are removed and grown
- The first-of-its-kind cellular immunotherapy was pioneered at the Moffitt Cancer Center
- It received approval from the Food and Drug Administration and is now available for patients with advanced melanoma
The Moffitt Cancer Center played a pivotal role in the phase two trial portion, which helped make approval possible.
One of the patients chosen to participate was Jamie Tomasko.
“The trial worked from day one. I could, we could tell a difference in one week of my tumors and the way I felt,” said Tomasko.
Back in 2014, he was diagnosed with stage 4B melanoma. Time, as you can imagine, became vitally important.
“That was the hardest part is realizing you don’t know when your last shower is going to be or the last time you get to go to work, or the simple things that we all take for granted,” said Tomasko.
During his diagnosis, Moffitt was participating in the phase two trials for a first-of-its-kind cellular immunotherapy called TIL, tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte.
“When we decided to go with the TIL trial, they said this is what the stages would be if everything goes as planned, because sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. And mine was like clockwork,” said Tomasko. “It gave me hope. I was very excited, and it gave me hope.”
Dr. Amod Sarnaik ran the study at Moffitt. After learning of the recent FDA approval, he and others at Moffitt were very excited.
“I think this is a major breakthrough when it comes to anti-cancer therapy. And like I said, the treatment is rather hard on the body so we restrict it to people who really who haven’t really been able to get a response through more conventional means,” said Dr. Amod Sarnaik, Surgical Oncologist.
Moffitt is now working and participating in other TIL trials for other cancer treatments.
For the TIL treatment, melanoma tumors are surgically removed, and the cells found fighting off the cancer are manufactured into the billions.
“I was in the hospital for ten days,” said Tomasko. “That is it. Just the one time, that is it. And then it was checkups every month, then every three months, then every six months, and now I am on every year.”
Tomasko has been in remission ever since, but his outlook on life and time won’t ever change.
“We make plans every day. Everyday plans for the future, and it never stops,” said Tomasko.
Because of the recent FDA approval, certain melanoma patients can now receive this care at authorized treatment centers, like Moffitt.