Adoptive immunotherapy in the treatment of malignant disease

Autologous mononuclear cell therapy has become an important, if somewhat controversial, new area of investigation in transfusion medicine. More than 30 centers are now involved in a National Cancer Institute-sponsored LAK-cell therapy trial. Still other centers in the United States, Europe, and Japan have developed variant protocols for LAK cell-IL-2 and activated monocyte studies. Patients are now receiving repeated courses of therapy, and patients with evidence of early disease and smaller tumor burdens are entering studies. Efforts are under way to define more tolerable modes of administration of IL-2, as its toxicity seems to limit the wider application of LAK and TIL therapy.