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Updated June 2026 · ClinicalTrials.gov

RECRUITINGPhase 2INTERVENTIONAL

Immunotherapy Using Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes for Patients With Metastatic Cancer

A Phase II Study Using Short-Term Cultured, Autologous Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Following a Lymphodepleting Regimen in Metastatic Cancers Plus the Administration of Pembrolizumab

Immunotherapy Using Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes for Patients With Metastatic Cancer (NCT01174121) is a Phase 2 interventional studying Metastatic Colorectal Cancer and Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer, sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI). RECRUITING as of the most recent ClinicalTrials.gov update. Talk to your doctor before contacting the trial site.

Important: This information is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

About This Trial

Background: The NCI Surgery Branch has developed an experimental therapy that involves taking white blood cells from patients' tumors, growing them in the laboratory in large numbers, and then giving the cells back to the patient. These cells are called Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes, or TIL and we have given this type of treatment to over 200 patients with melanoma. Researchers want to know if TIL shrink s tumors in people with digestive tract, urothelial, breast, or ovarian/endometrial cancers. In this study, we are selecting a specific subset of white blood cells from the tumor that we think are the most effective in fighting tumors and will use only these cells in making the tumor fighting cells. Objective: The purpose of this study is to see if these specifically selected tumor fighting cells can cause digestive tract, urothelial, breast, or ovarian/endometrial tumors to shrink and to see if this treatment is safe. Eligibility: \- Adults age 18-72 with upper or lower gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, genitourinary, breast, ovarian/endometrial cancer, or glioblastoma refractory to standard chemotherapy. Design: Work up stage: Patients will be seen as an outpatient at the NIH clinical Center and undergo a history and physical examination, scans, x-rays, lab tests, and other tests as needed. Surgery: If the patients meet all of the requirements for the study they will undergo surgery to remove a tumor that can be used to grow the TIL product. Leukapheresis: Patients may undergo leukapheresis to obtain additional white blood cells. (Leukapheresis is a common procedure, which removes only the white blood cells from the patient.) Treatment: Once their cells have grown, the patients will be admitted to the hospital for the conditioning chemotherapy, the TIL cells and aldesleukin. They will stay in the hospital for about 4 weeks for the treatment. Follow up: Patients will return to the clinic for a physical exam, review of side effects, lab tests, and scans about every 1-3 months for the first year, and then every 6 months to 1 year as long as their tumors are shrinking. Follow up visits will take up to 2 days.

What Stage of Research Is This?

Phase 2 trials evaluate whether a treatment actually works against Metastatic Colorectal Cancer and continue monitoring side effects. Phase 2 enrolls larger groups (typically 100–300 patients) and produces the first real efficacy signal. A successful Phase 2 readout is what unlocks the much larger Phase 3 confirmatory trials needed for FDA approval.

This trial is currently recruiting participants. The sponsor has registered the study with ClinicalTrials.gov as actively enrolling, which means new applicants who meet the eligibility criteria can be considered for screening. Trial status can change between updates — confirm current recruiting status with the study contact before traveling for a screening visit.

A target enrollment of 332 participants makes this a sizable late-stage trial. Studies in this range typically have enough power to detect clinically meaningful differences from a comparator and to characterize less-common side effects.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

* Who May Qualify: - Measurable (per RECIST v1.0 criteria), metastatic cancer of one of the following types: upper or lower gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, genitourinary, breast, ovarian/endometrial, or endocrine tumors including neuroendocrine tumors. Patients must have at least one lesion that is resectable for TIL generation with minimal morbidity, preferentially using minimal invasive laparoscopic or thoracoscopic surgery for removal of superficial tumor deposit. - Confirmation of diagnosis of metastatic cancer by the NCI Laboratory of Pathology. - Refractory to approved standard systemic therapy. Specifically: - Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer must have received oxaliplatin or irinotecan. - Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma must have received sorafenib (Nexavar(R)), since level 1 data support a survival benefit with this agent. - Patients with breast and ovarian cancer must be refractory to both first- and second-line treatments and must have received at least one second-line chemotherapy regimen. - Patients with 3 or fewer brain metastases that are \< 1 cm in diameter and asymptomatic are eligible. Lesions that have been treated with stereotactic radiosurgery must be clinically stable for one month after treatment for the patient to be eligible. Patients with surgically resected brain metastases are eligible. - Age greater than or equal to 18 years and less than or equal to 72 years. - Clinical performance status of ECOG 0 or 1. - Patients of both sexes must be willing to practice birth control from the time of enrollment on this study and 12 months after the last dose of combined chemotherapy for individuals of child-bearing potential (IOCBP) and for four months after treatment for individuals that can father children. - IOCBP must have a negative pregnancy test be a pregnancy test prior to the start of treatment because of the potentially dangerous effects of the treatment on the fetus. Serology ...See full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

These are translations of the protocol\'s inclusion and exclusion criteria, simplified for patients and caregivers. The original clinical text appears below. Eligibility is ultimately confirmed by the trial site\'s screening process — this summary is a starting point for a conversation with your doctor, not a final determination.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language
* INCLUSION CRITERIA: * Measurable (per RECIST v1.0 criteria), metastatic cancer of one of the following types: upper or lower gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, genitourinary, breast, ovarian/endometrial, or endocrine tumors including neuroendocrine tumors. Patients must have at least one lesion that is resectable for TIL generation with minimal morbidity, preferentially using minimal invasive laparoscopic or thoracoscopic surgery for removal of superficial tumor deposit. * Confirmation of diagnosis of metastatic cancer by the NCI Laboratory of Pathology. * Refractory to approved standard systemic therapy. Specifically: * Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer must have received oxaliplatin or irinotecan. * Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma must have received sorafenib (Nexavar(R)), since level 1 data support a survival benefit with this agent. * Patients with breast and ovarian cancer must be refractory to both first- and second-line treatments and must have received at least one second-line chemotherapy regimen. * Patients with 3 or fewer brain metastases that are \< 1 cm in diameter and asymptomatic are eligible. Lesions that have been treated with stereotactic radiosurgery must be clinically stable for one month after treatment for the patient to be eligible. Patients with surgically resected brain metastases are eligible. * Age greater than or equal to 18 years and less than or equal to 72 years. * Clinical performance status of ECOG 0 or 1. * Patients of both sexes must be willing to practice birth control from the time of enrollment on this study and 12 months after the last dose of combined chemotherapy for individuals of child-bearing potential (IOCBP) and for four months after treatment for individuals that can father children. * IOCBP must have a negative pregnancy test be a pregnancy test prior to the start of treatment because of the potentially dangerous effects of the treatment on the fetus. Serology * Seronegative for HIV antibody. (The experimental treatment being evaluated in this protocol depends on an intact immune system. Patients who are HIV seropositive may have decreased immune-competence and thus may be less responsive to the experimental treatment and more susceptible to its toxicities.) * Seronegative for hepatitis B antigen, and seronegative for hepatitis C antibody. If hepatitis C antibody test is positive, then the patient must be tested for the presence of antigen by RT-PCR and be HCV RNA negative. Hematology * ANC \> 1000/mm\^3 without the support of filgrastim * WBC greater than or equal to 2500/mm\^3 * Platelet count greater than or equal to 80,000/mm\^3 * Hemoglobin \> 8.0 g/dL. Subjects may be transfused to reach this cut-off. Chemistry * Serum ALT/AST less than or equal to 5.0 x ULN * Serum creatinine less than or equal to 1.5 x ULN * Total bilirubin less than or equal to 2.0 mg/dL, except in patients with Gilbert s Syndrome, who must have a total bilirubin \< 3.0 mg/dL. * Patients must have completed any prior systemic therapy at the time of enrollment. Note: Patients may have undergone minor surgical procedures or limited field radiotherapy within the four weeks prior to enrollment, as long as related major organ toxicities have recovered to less than or equal to grade 1. * Ability of subject to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. * Willing to sign a durable power of attorney. * Subjects must be co-enrolled on protocol 03-C-0277. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: * Participants who are pregnant or nursing because of the potentially dangerous effects of the treatment on the fetus or infant. * Concurrent systemic steroid therapy. * Active systemic infections requiring anti-infective treatment, coagulation disorders, or any other active or uncompensated major medical illnesses. * Advanced primary with impeding occlusion, perforation or bleeding, dependent on transfusion. * Any form of primary immunodeficiency (such as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease and AIDS). * History of major organ autoimmune disease. * Grade 3 or 4 major organ irAEs clinically attributed to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. * Concurrent opportunistic infections (The experimental treatment being evaluated in this protocol depends on an intact immune system. Patients who have decreased immunecompetence may be less responsive to the experimental treatment and more susceptible to its toxicities.) * History of severe immediate hypersensitivity reaction to cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, or aldesleukin. * History of coronary revascularization or ischemic symptoms. * For select patients with a clinical history prompting cardiac evaluation: last known LVEF less than or equal to 45%. * Documented Child-Pugh score of B or C for hepatocellular carcinoma patients with known underlying liver dysfunction. * For select patients with a clinical history prompting pulmonary evaluation: known FEV1 less than or equal to 50%. * Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents.

Treatments Being Tested

DRUG

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda)

Arm 3 or 5: Pembrolizumab 2mg/kg IV over approximately 30 minutes on Days -2, 21, 42, and 63 Arm 4: Pembrolizumab 2mg/kg IV over approximately 30 minutes (for patients who meet progressive disease per RECIST criteria and have resolved major toxicities after cell infusion or anytime during the post-treatment evaluation period; starting within 4 weeks of progression; may receive up to 8 doses every 3 weeks).

DRUG

Fludarabine

Days -7 to -3: Fludarabine 25 mg/m2/day IVPB daily over 30 minutes for 5 days.

DRUG

Cyclophosphamide

Days -7 and -6: Cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg/day X 2 days IV in 250 ml D5W with Mesna 15 mg/kg/day X2 days over 1 hr.

DRUG

Aldesleukin

Aldesleukin 720,000 IU/kg IV (based on total body weight) over 15 minutes every eight hours (+/- 1 hour) beginning within 24 hours of cell infusion and continuing for up to 4 days (maximum 12 doses.)

BIOLOGICAL

Young TIL

Day 0: Cells will be infused intravenously (IV) on the Patient Care Unit over 20-30 minutes (one to four days after the last dose of fludarabine).

Locations (1)

Trial sites listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for this study. Site activation status can vary — confirm with the specific site before traveling for a screening visit.

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
Bethesda, Maryland, United States

How to Talk to Your Doctor About This Trial

Bring the printable summary of this trial — including the NCT ID (NCT01174121), the sponsor (National Cancer Institute (NCI)), and the key eligibility criteria — to your next appointment. Your doctor can review the inclusion and exclusion criteria against your medical history, lab values, and current treatments to assess whether you are likely to qualify. They can also help you weigh whether trial participation makes sense alongside your existing care plan.

Useful questions to walk through together: What does the trial protocol require beyond standard care? How long is the active treatment phase, and how long is follow-up? Are there study visits at sites I can reach? Who pays for the trial-specific procedures, and who pays for standard-of-care portions? See our 25 questions to ask about clinical trials guide for a more complete checklist.

Authoritative Sources

The official record for this trial lives on ClinicalTrials.gov — the federal registry maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. For background on how this trial fits into the FDA approval pathway, see the FDA drug approval process. For oncology-specific guidance for patients considering trials, the National Cancer Institute publishes patient-oriented overviews. International trial registries are aggregated by the WHO ICTRP.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NCT01174121 clinical trial studying?

Background: The NCI Surgery Branch has developed an experimental therapy that involves taking white blood cells from patients' tumors, growing them in the laboratory in large numbers, and then giving the cells back to the patient. These cells are called Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes, or TIL and we have given this type of treatment to over 200 patients with melanoma. Researchers want to know if TIL shrink s tumors in people with digestive tract, urothelial, breast, or ovarian/endometrial cancers. In this study, we are selecting a specific subset of white blood cells from the tumor that we thi… The full protocol is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and includes the primary outcome measures, eligibility criteria, and study endpoints.

Who can participate in NCT01174121?

Eligibility for this trial depends on the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria set by the sponsor. The plain-English summary above translates the most important criteria into accessible language; the official clinical text is preserved in the collapsible section underneath. Whether you fit any specific trial is a medical decision your doctor needs to confirm — bring the trial information to your treating physician for a full review against your medical history.

How do I contact the trial site for NCT01174121?

Contact information registered with ClinicalTrials.gov is shown in the sidebar of this page. Before reaching out, confirm with your treating physician that this trial is appropriate for your situation. The trial site will then walk you through the screening process to determine final eligibility.

Is participating in a clinical trial safe?

Clinical trials in the United States are regulated by the FDA and overseen by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) that review the protocol for safety. Risk varies by trial — Phase 1 studies test new treatments in humans for the first time, while Phase 3 trials use treatments that have already passed earlier safety screening. The informed consent document for any specific trial details the known risks and what to expect. Discuss those risks with your physician before deciding whether to participate.

Where can I verify the data on this page?

Every detail on this page comes directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov API. Click "View on ClinicalTrials.gov" in the sidebar to see the official, unmodified record. The federal record is always authoritative; this page is a structured presentation with a plain-English eligibility translation. For background on how clinical trials are regulated, see the FDA drug approval process documentation.

How This Page Is Built

Every field on this page is pulled directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 — no estimates, no proxies. The plain-English eligibility translation is generated from the original protocol text and reviewed for fidelity to the underlying clinical criteria. The original clinical text remains visible in the collapsible section above so users and clinicians can verify the translation. Read the full methodology for the data pipeline and known limitations.

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 record for NCT01174121. Maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. Public domain. Cite as: "TrialFinderData. NCT01174121. Data: ClinicalTrials.gov."

Medical disclaimer: This page is informational, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

Last updated 2026-06-26 · Data from ClinicalTrials.gov.