Adoptive Transfer of MART1/Melan-A CTL for Malignant Melanoma
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2013-01-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
RATIONALE: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are cells of the immune system that can fight
infections and cancer. These CTL can be manipulated in the laboratory so that they can target
an individual's cancer.
PURPOSE: This early phase trial is studying the feasibility and side effects of intravenous
infusions of CTL generated in the laboratory. To produce the CTL, the study participant's own
immune cells are collected by a procedure called a leukapheresis. The cells then undergo
laboratory processing for three weeks. Part of this processing includes mixing the patients
immune cells with a new kind of cell that has some extra genes added to it. These extra genes
are to "teach" the participant's own immune cells to become anti-tumor CTL that can attack
the melanoma.