[A new therapeutic concept in the treatment of metastatic cancers of the kidney: the TIL (tumor infiltrating lymphocytes)].

The metastases of cancers of the kidneys raise difficult problems for treatment. In fact, the classical treatments combining surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormono therapy are hardly effective to treat this condition. This explains the interest arising from the new therapeutic approach of immunotherapy, which is just beginning and offers appealing prospects. Experimental studies have shown that the cells with the highest cytolytic activity are tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). The TIL are obtained by cultivating a mixed cell suspension--tumor cells/lymphocytes-infiltrating the tumor. After a three-weeks culture with Interleukin 2, the tumoral cells have been completely destroyed, and only a pure population of activated lymphocytes remains, which can be injected back to the patient. The first clinical trials with these activated lymphocytes have yielded encouraging results. Efforts are currently made to improve the therapeutic efficacy of this approach.