Allison Betof Warner, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discusses key challenges associated with the clinical development of adoptive cell therapies in solid tumors. A major issue with cellular therapy is production time, which usually taked 2-3 weeks or more from the time of resection to the time the patient receives the cellular therapy. Many patients, particularly those who have progressed following immunotherapy, cannot afford to wait that long. One of the ways to overcome this is via bridging therapy, whereby the patient undergoes treatment in the time between surgery and cellular infusion. Banking may also be utilized, whereby earlier resection of the tumor allows for partial production of the tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) product, which is frozen until time of need. Additional issues mentioned include the cost of the therapy and patient selection. This interview took place at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2022 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.
