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Date
July 7, 2015
News Release
Contacts
Alicia Reale
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Phone
216 844 5158
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UH Seidman Cancer Center investigators develop activated T cell therapy for advanced melanoma
Research published in Journal of Immunotherapy leads to launch of clinical trial
CLEVELAND – T cells from patients with melanoma can trigger a protective immune response
against the disease according to a new study out of University Hospitals Case Medical Center
Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Published in the July/August issue of Journal of Immunotherapy, these new findings demonstrate that
T cells derived from lymph nodes of patients with melanoma can be expanded in number and
activated in the laboratory for intravenous administration in the treatment of patients. Led by Julian
Kim, MD, Chief Medical Officer at UH Seidman Cancer Center, the research team has developed a
novel technique to generate large numbers of activated T cells which can be transferred back into the
same patient to stimulate the immune system to attack the cancer.
“This study is unique in that the source of T cells for therapy is derived from the lymph node, which
is the natural site of the immune response against pathogens as well as cancer,” says Dr. Kim who is
also Professor of Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the Charles
Hubay Chair at UH Case Medical Center. “These encouraging results provide the rationale to start
testing the transfer of activated T cells in a human clinical trial.”
In his research laboratory at the School of Medicine, Dr. Kim and his team developed a new method
to grow and activate immune cells in a two-week culture. Immune cells are extracted from lymph
nodes which have been exposed to growing melanoma in the patient’s body. Rather than trying to
activate the T cells while in the body, the lymph nodes are surgically removed so that the activation
process and growth of the T cells can be tightly regulated in a laboratory. This novel approach to
cancer treatment, termed adoptive immunotherapy, is only offered at a few institutions worldwide.
These promising findings have led to the recent launch of a new Phase I human clinical trial at UH
Seidman Cancer Center in patients with advanced melanoma. The research leading to the clinical
trial was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The new Phase I clinical trial is being supported by University Hospitals as well as a significant
philanthropic effort including the Immunogene Therapy Fund, Paula and Ronald Raymond Fund and
the Kathryn and Paula Miller Family Fund.
“The infusion of activated T cells has demonstrated promising results and is an area of great potential
for the treatment of patients with cancer,” said Dr. Kim. “We are really excited that our method of
activating and expanding T cells is practical and may be ideal for widespread use. Our goal is to
eventually combine these T cells with other immune therapies which will result in cures. These
types of clinical trials place the UH Seidman Cancer Center at the forefront of immune therapy of
cancer.”
Additionally, the research team has been researching the possibility of using lymph nodes from
patients with pancreatic cancer to develop T cell therapy. Their goal is to expand the program and
eventually study other tumor types including lung, colorectal and breast cancers.
Study co-authors include the primary and secondary authors Mei Zhang and Hallie Graor as well as
Anthony Visioni, Madeleine Strohl, Lu Yan and Kevin Caja
About University Hospitals
University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and
primary care physicians. At the core of our health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The primary
affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home to
some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer,
pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience,
cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the
internationally celebrated UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the
nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the
NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. University Hospitals Case
Medical Center is the 2012 recipient of the American Hospital Association – McKesson Quest for Quality Prize for its
leadership and innovation in quality improvement and safety.
For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org
About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio
and is among the nation’s top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of
Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The
School’s innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship,
clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in
the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the
School of Medicine.
Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S.
research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report’s “Guide to Graduate Education.”
The School of Medicine’s primary affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with
MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the
Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve
University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu