{"id":147793,"date":"2026-02-23T18:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=147793"},"modified":"2026-02-23T18:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:48:13","slug":"innovative-til-therapy-expands-treatment-options-for-advanced-skin-cancer-patients-in-the-lehigh-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=147793","title":{"rendered":"Innovative TIL Therapy Expands Treatment Options for Advanced Skin Cancer Patients in the Lehigh Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute is first to offer this pioneering immunotherapy outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh<\/em><\/p>\n

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (Feb. 23, 2026) <\/strong>\u2014 Personalized\u00a0immunotherapy<\/a>\u00a0has become a promising avenue for cancer treatment\u00a0and a focus of research and development at Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, part of Jefferson Health.<\/p>\n

CAR-T therapy<\/a>\u00a0for blood cancers was introduced to the Lehigh Valley region in 2025. Also, under the Stem Cell Therapy and Cellular Therapy Program \u2212 made possible by the generosity of Tom and Karin Hall and Joe and Maureen Topper \u2212 another treatment called tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is now being offered for patients with advanced melanoma.<\/p>\n

Creating super cancer-fighters<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new therapy features lymphocytes, or white blood cells. These are the warriors of the immune system that fight off infections and eliminate diseased cells in the body. Made up of T cells and B cells, lymphocytes are always on patrol, identifying cells \u2212 like cancer \u2212 that shouldn\u2019t be there. When the cells recognize something abnormal, they penetrate it. They then become tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TILs.<\/p>\n

Once in the tumor, the TILs begin killing the cancer. However, they sometimes run into roadblocks and need help to strengthen their immune response.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use the TILs themselves, with some improvements, as a form of cell therapy,\u201d says hematologist oncologist\u00a0Suresh Nair, MD<\/a>, Physician in Chief with the Cancer Institute, who spearheaded the TIL initiative. \u201cThe cells have already recognized something isn\u2019t right and have infiltrated the tumor. But it\u2019s not enough. The whole idea is to give these cells a boost.\u201d<\/p>\n

A two-step process after surgery<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike CAR-T therapy, where clinicians harvest T cells from the body, TIL therapy begins with surgically removing a piece of the patient\u2019s cancerous tumor. TIL therapy has exciting potential and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for advanced melanoma.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost any metastatic tumor in the body can be selected for TIL harvesting, but preference is given to tumors that have spread to the lymph nodes or the skin,\u201d says surgical oncologist\u00a0Aaron Blackham, MD<\/a>, with the Cancer Institute. \u201cMost of the time these tumors can be removed in outpatient surgery with low risk for negative health effects, and they tend to provide the highest yield of TILs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clinicians send the tumor tissue to a lab where technicians multiply the cancer-fighting cells. In the interim, the cancer team gives the patient chemotherapy to prepare their body for the cells\u2019 return. When the TIL cells are ready, they are infused back to the patient.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cells are returned in a much higher number, and we give the patient a growth factor as well,\u201d says hematologist oncologist\u00a0Mohammad Kazemi, MD<\/a>, with the Cancer Institute. \u201cThis way, the TILs can do a better job of fighting the cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long-lasting remissions<\/strong><\/p>\n

In clinical trials, TIL therapy has been successful in treating patients who have exhausted the standard paths of care. This gives the team hope that this new therapy will provide long-lasting remissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a time when melanoma patients had no good treatment options,\u201d Dr. Kazemi says. \u201cImmunotherapy has been a breakthrough. A lot of patients go into remission and are even cured. While these treatments don\u2019t work for everyone, we\u2019ve made progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jefferson Health first introduced TIL therapy in 2024.\u00a0Drs. Nair, Kazemi and Blackham are pleased to make this groundbreaking treatment available in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to provide access to TIL therapy for advanced melanoma locally at\u00a0Lehigh Valley Hospital\u2013Cedar Crest<\/a>\u00a0through our\u00a0Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program<\/a>\u00a0is very convenient for our patients and families, and it\u2019s possibly lifesaving,\u201d Dr. Nair says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About Jefferson\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jefferson is reimagining healthcare and higher education to create unparalleled value throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. More than 65,000 people strong, Jefferson is dedicated to providing high-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making our communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow’s professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic\/programmatic, clinical and applied research.\u00a0Thomas Jefferson University<\/a>, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson College of Nursing, and the\u00a0Kanbar\u00a0College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 8,300 students.\u00a0Jefferson Health<\/a>, nationally ranked as one of the top 15 not-for-profit health care systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at\u00a033\u00a0hospital campuses and more than 700 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region.\u00a0Jefferson Health Plans<\/a>, through Health Partners Plans, Inc., is a not-for-profit managed healthcare organization offering a broad range of health coverage options to more than\u00a0370,000 members\u00a0for more than 40 years.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nPriscilla Turbitt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute is first to offer this pioneering immunotherapy outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh ALLENTOWN, Pa. (Feb. 23, 2026) \u2014 Personalized\u00a0immunotherapy\u00a0has become a promising avenue for cancer … Continue reading Innovative TIL Therapy Expands Treatment Options for Advanced Skin Cancer Patients in the Lehigh Valley<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/jefferson-a.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147793"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=147793"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147795,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147793\/revisions\/147795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/142100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=147793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=147793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=147793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}