Cell Therapy for Uveal Melanoma

Metastatic uveal melanoma remains a therapeutic challenge due to its poor response to conventional treatments. Adoptive cell therapies with T cells and other immune effector cells have proven effective in hematological cancers and hold promise for patients with uveal melanoma. For these therapies, immune cells are isolated from the tumor microenvironment and expanded or genetically engineered from peripheral blood T cells to recognize a target present in the tumor cells and stimulate a response. Though cell therapy research remains ongoing in solid tumors, this strategy may improve outcomes for cancers like metastatic uveal melanoma that require new treatment modalities. In this chapter, we review the basics of adoptive cell therapy, focusing on potential targets and outcomes from published preclinical and clinical research in uveal melanoma.