The aim of the project is to develop a new immunotherapy approach for the treatment of malignant melanoma, a malignant skin cancer.

Immunotherapy, which aims to activate the body's immune system to eliminate cancer cells, has made great progress and treatment with immune-activating antibodies prolongs survival in patients with metastatic melanoma. However, a majority (70-80%) of patients do not respond to this treatment. Cell therapy with white blood cells produced from the patient's cancerous tumor, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), which are then multiplied in large numbers and returned to the patient, has a very good effect on the disease. Tumor vaccination with a special type of immune-activating cells extracted from the patient's blood, called Dendritic Cells (DC), has also been shown to be effective against certain types of cancer. Design and methods: A clinical study, approved by the Swedish Medical Products Agency and Ethics Committee, is ongoing with the administration of TIL cells combined with Dendritic Cells (DC) vaccine to patients with advanced melanoma disease. Three of the four very seriously ill patients in the study that we treated with the combination of TIL and DC have responded very well with complete or almost complete regression of the cancer, even though they no longer respond to other types of cancer treatment. We will now be able to treat another 10 patients with this method, as well as to improve our methods for the production of high activity TIL and DC and to measure the effect immunologically.