Immunotherapy research could lead the way to new a treatment for metastatic melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Ohio State researchers are working to activate T cells called TILs found within melanoma tumors that would then attack cancer in the patients’ bodies. “TILs an acronym — it stands for tumor infiltrating lymphocytes — and these are T cells that are found within a patient's tumor, and they're specifically in there because they're able to fight and kill the tumor, much like they would eradicate a virus or the flu,” Joal Beane, MD, says. Click to learn about immunotherapy innovation at the OSUCCC – James. Since TILs are naturally-produced white blood cells, OSUCCC – James researchers are concentrating on activating them inside the bodies of patients with metastatic melanoma. The treatment could become a revolutionary new therapy for a particularly dangerous form of skin cancer. Click to learn about melanoma, including risks, symptoms and treatment options at Ohio State. “This is a biologic living therapy that we can give to the patients that has been optimized within their body and is curative,” Beane says. Researchers are currently studying the effects of the treatment to determine which patients are most likely to benefit. Beane believes the therapy could go into wider use in the near future. “We're very, very close to having this FDA approved for all patients off clinical trial.” Click to learn about cancer clinical trials at the OSUCCC – James.