Which is more suitable， immunotherapy or targeted therapy？

　　In fact， it depends on which treatment has greater benefits and better effects， and then choose which one. In many cases， it is combined therapy， and both are used. Targeted therapy belongs to the molecular field of drug therapy. Targeted therapy is to block the "driver gene" that promotes the growth of cancer cells (such as cancer caused by certain gene mutations)， so that cancer cells naturally cannot continue to grow. Targeted drugs are specific blockers designed for "driver genes". Because chemotherapy often kills cancer cells while killing good cells， but targeted drugs will find cancer cells at a fixed point and kill cancer cells like shooting at a target， so targeted therapy is also called "biological missile". At present， targeted therapy has reached the molecular level， and there are large molecule and small molecule targeted tumor drugs;

　　Cancer immunotherapy is a treatment method that actively or passively allows the body to produce cancer cell-specific immune responses， exerting its function of inhibiting and killing cancer cells， with advantages such as high efficiency and no side effects. Unlike other treatments that directly kill cancer cells， immunotherapy kills cancer cells by mobilizing the body's immune cells. There are five main types of immunotherapy， namely molecular targeted therapy (monoclonal antibodies and small molecule compounds)， immune checkpoint inhibitors (such as PD-1/L1)， adoptive immune cell therapy (such as CAR-T， the famous million-dollar injection)， cytokine therapy， and tumor vaccines.

　　The ultimate weapon for solid tumors - TILS cell therapy

　　On the road to fighting cancer， traditional treatments mainly include surgery， radiotherapy， and chemotherapy. Although these methods are effective in many cases， they also face some challenges， such as the inability to completely eliminate cancer cells， greater damage to normal cells， and obvious side effects.

　　With the advancement of science and technology， a new treatment method - cell therapy， has gradually become a star in the field of cancer treatment. Cell therapy is a bit like equipping our immune system with a "special forces" that specifically targets and eliminates cancer cells. By using the patient's own or donor's immune cells， scientists are able to genetically modify or enhance these cells to make them more powerful in the fight against cancer.

　　For example， CAR-T therapy is one of them. It equips T cells with a "navigation system" that can accurately identify and attack cancer cells. TILs therapy "upgrades" the immune cells that are already fighting in the tumor and sends them back to the battlefield...

　　Next， this article will focus on introducing the principles and applications of the new anti-cancer king TILs therapy. Just like disassembling the equipment of superheroes， let you explore the secrets of these anti-cancer "weapons" and how they can help patients who were once incurable to rekindle hope.

　　Speaking of cell immunotherapy， perhaps everyone is familiar with the famous chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy， engineered T cell receptor T cell (TCR-T) therapy， and tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TILs) therapy， which are said to cost 1.2 million per injection. They all belong to the category of ACT. Compared with TCRT and CAR-T therapy， TILs cells can simultaneously target and recognize tumor-specific antigens or tumor-related antigens， and can better solve the problem of tumor heterogeneity， which makes TILs therapy the most likely cell immunotherapy to conquer solid tumors.

　　TILsTumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes, that is, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, TILs are immune cells found in tumor tissues. Unlike other similar T and NK lymphocytes circulating in the blood, TILs are a type of lymphocytes that penetrate deep into the tumor tissue stroma and have stronger killing ability. The main types include T cells and NK cells. TILs therapy is a method of separating T lymphocytes from tumor tissues, isolating, amplifying, and activating them in vitro, and then returning them to the patient's body. It can treat primary or secondary tumors by inducing cellular immune responses, expanding immune responses, and releasing cytotoxins to identify and kill tumor tissues.

　　Principles and advantages of TILS cell therapy

　　—— Principles of cell therapy

　　The core of TILs cell therapy is to use the patient's own immune cells to fight tumor cells. The specific steps are as follows：

　　1. Collect tumor tissue： Collect tumor tissue samples from the patient's body through surgery.

　　2. Isolate TILs cells： Isolate tumor infiltrating lymphocytes from tumor tissue.

　　3. In vitro expansion and activation： In a laboratory environment， these TILs cells are rapidly expanded and activated through the action of factors such as interleukin-2 (IL-2).

　　4. Re-infusion of TILs cells： The expanded and activated TILs cells are re-infused into the patient's body so that these cells can specifically recognize and kill tumor cells.

　　——Advantages of TILs immunotherapy

　　Compared with other immunotherapies such as CAR-T cell therapy and PD-1/PD-L1 antibody therapy， TILs cell therapy has the following significant advantages：

　　1. Multi-target effect： TILs cells can recognize multiple tumor-associated antigens， thereby exerting anti-tumor effects on multiple targets.

　　2. Tumor homing characteristics： Since TILs cells are derived from tumor tissues， they have a strong tumor homing ability and can effectively infiltrate tumor sites.

　　3. Less side effects： TILs therapy uses the patient's own cells， so it has less immune rejection and side effects， and is more suitable for long-term treatment.

　　Clinical effect of TILs cell therapy

　　Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main histological subtype of liver cancer， accounting for 90% of primary liver cancer and the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Studies have shown that the number of CD8+ TILs in resected hepatocellular carcinoma specimens is positively correlated with prolonged patient survival， and patients with a large number of CD8+ TILs have a longer overall survival.

　　In a randomized controlled trial， researchers recruited 76 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who received TILs cell therapy after surgery. After an average follow-up of 4.4 years， the results showed：

　　Reduction in recurrence rate： The recurrence rate in the TILs treatment group was 18% lower than that in the control group.

　　Delayed first relapse： The first relapse time of patients in the TILs treatment group was significantly later than that in the control group.

　　Prolonged survival： The relapse-free survival (p=0.01) and disease-specific survival (p=0.04) of the TILs treatment group were significantly longer than those in the control group.

　　These results show that TILs cell therapy has significant clinical benefits in the postoperative treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma， which can effectively prolong the survival of patients and reduce the recurrence rate.

　　Advantages of TILs cell therapy

　　TILs cells are polyclonal， can specifically recognize multiple neoantigens， are personalized， highly specific， persistent， and can form immune memory after infusion. The advantage of this is that patients will receive multiple anti-tumor lymphocytes and be able to overcome drug resistance. Over time， this "living" cell therapy can continue to work， and when cancer cells reappear in the body， these immune cells can quickly launch an attack.

　　Like CAR-T， TILs therapy is a one-time treatment. First， TILs cells are harvested from the tumor through minimally invasive surgery， and then grown and multiplied in the laboratory. The whole process takes about eight weeks.

　　TILs cell therapy developed in China

　　According to the medical department of the Global Oncology Doctors Network， the domestic TILs therapy is based on the tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy in the United States. It has been improved to enhance its ability to overcome the tumor microenvironment and increase self-amplification. In the early proof-of-concept clinical studies， it has achieved very positive efficacy and safety verification. It has been approved to formally conduct human clinical trials， including the following solid tumor types： lung cancer， cervical cancer， head and neck tumors， melanoma， biliary tumors and other solid tumors. A large number of advanced patients have been successfully enrolled and treated. We hope that more patients will know this good news， and more patients will benefit from these new anti-cancer therapies and defeat cancer！

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　　If you want to seek help from TILs and other new anti-cancer treatments at home and abroad， and if your financial conditions allow， you can first submit your medical records to the Herun International Preventive Medicine Center for a preliminary evaluation. Once the review is passed， cancer patients will have the opportunity to get a "new life".