Northwest suburban woman is first in the Midwest to receive 'groundbreaking' skin cancer treatment

Alla Pinzour has lived with skin cancer for 15 years.

She was diagnosed with melanoma in 2009 after finding a small mole on her leg. She's tried every possible treatment — injections, surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy. But nothing has managed to keep the disease at bay.

Last year, the melanoma spread further. Tumors were found in her stomach, lungs and liver.

"It had advanced more aggressively than it ever had," Pinzour said.

But her longtime oncologist, Dr. Bruce Brockstein at NorthShore hospital in Highland Park, learned about a new cancer treatment that would become available at University of Chicago Medical Center. It just needed federal approval first.

She waited nearly a year. The treatment, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy, was finally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February. Weeks later, Pinzour, 50, became the first patient in the Midwest and one of the first in the country to receive the therapy.

"I have always been a trouper. I have always stayed positive," Pinzour said. "That's how I believe I handled it for so many years."

Melanoma is the most aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer. And the options for treating advanced melanoma were limited until 15 years ago, said Dr. Daniel Olson, an oncologist who specializes in melanoma at University of Chicago.

The first therapy to treat metastatic melanoma, called checkpoint inhibitors, was approved in 2008 and changed the landscape for treating the disease, Olson said. That treatment helps about half of patients go into remission or be cancer-free.

TIL therapy is another major breakthrough for treating melanoma, said Olson, who leads the TIL therapy program at the University of Chicago.

"For treating melanoma, it's really a remarkable therapy. It's groundbreaking. It's the best thing out there now," Olson said.

University of Chicago is one of a handful of medical centers in the U.S. providing the new treatment. The hospital had been running clinical trials for the therapy and knew the approval was coming, Olson said. They lined up Pinzour to receive it as soon as possible.

The therapy relies on the patient's own T cells, a type of white blood cells in the immune system that can recognize and kill cancer cells, Olson said. These cells are also found in melanoma tumors.

Scientists determined the T cells could be extracted from the tumor, multiplied by the billions in a lab and then returned to the patient's body to help their immune system fight the tumor, Olson said.

"I describe this to patients, and they think it's crazy. And it is. It's a rather remarkable way to treat cancer," he said.

Not everyone with advanced melanoma is eligible, Olson said. It's a laborious therapy that can only be used when other treatments have failed, as in Pinzour's case. The patient also needs to be healthy enough to endure the therapy.

Pinzour, who lives in northwest suburban Hawthorn Woods, said the treatment was brutal. At one point, she had a fever of 105.1 degrees. She felt weak and struggled to get out of bed.

But good news came two months later during her first scan after getting the therapy. Her tumors had shrunk by half.

"I can't even describe the emotions. I was yelling, I was screaming. My husband was stunned," Pinzour said. She goes back for a second scan in November.

Administering the therapy involves a large care team, Olson said. A surgeon first extracts the T cells from the patient's tumor. Then the patient goes through a week of chemotherapy to tamp down their other white blood cells before getting their T cells put back in. They also receive a drug that helps the T cells continue to grow.

Luckily, it's a "one-and-done" treatment, Olson said. One-third to half of all patients who receive TIL therapy go into remission or end up cancer-free. Results can take several weeks to months to appear.

Olson said he's encouraged by how well Pinzour handled the therapy.

"It's really fortunate she did well and tolerated the treatment. We saw an amazing regression within weeks," Olson said.

Fifteen patients will be receiving TIL therapy at University of Chicago by the end of the month.

This type of treatment will hopefully soon be available to treat other cancers, Olson said. Ongoing clinical trials are determining if TIL therapy can be used to treat lung, cervical, breast and colon cancers.

The success of the treatment meant Pinzour got to have a normal summer for the first time in years. She spent time with her husband and her two kids, visited with friends and focused on her catering business, Alla's Yummy Food.

"I am finally able to live my life," Pinzour said. "I have hope that I will be cancer-free. I'm a believer."