Researchers from Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health, along with colleagues from the National Cancer Institute, announced findings from two HPV-related studies that highlight the potential of novel T cell therapies to achieve long-lasting remission and complete tumor regression in patients with advanced epithelial cancers.
Christian Hinrichs, M.D., co-director of the Duncan and Nancy MacMillan Cancer Immunology and Metabolism Center of Excellence at Rutgers Cancer Institute and chief of the Section of Cancer Immunotherapy, led the studies and presented these findings at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting, in National Harbor, Maryland, Nov. 5–9, 2025.
The two studies show how different T cell approaches may achieve lasting remission in HPV-related cancers — underscoring the broader potential of cellular therapy to change the course of cancer treatment.
In one study, researchers reported encouraging interim results from a Phase II clinical trial evaluating genetically engineered T cell receptor (TCR)-T cells targeting the HPV16 E7 oncoprotein (E7 T cells) in patients with metastatic HPV-associated cancers. Five had head and neck cancer, two had cervical cancer, two had anal cancer, and one had esophageal cancer.
The treatment was generally well-tolerated, with side effects consistent with the preparative regimen and aldesleukin. Six out of 10 patients achieved substantial tumor shrinkage, including two patients who experienced complete tumor regression that remains ongoing at 11 and 12 months, respectively. Both patients had previously received immunotherapy and other standard therapeutic options.
All 10 patients had advanced cancers that are generally regarded as incurable with limited treatment options.
“Metastatic HPV-associated cancers remain difficult to treat,” said Dr. Hinrichs. “We found that E7-directed T cells can induce meaningful, and sometimes complete, responses in patients with limited options. It’s an encouraging step toward effective engineered T cell therapies for these and other epithelial cancers.”
Development of this treatment has been through a collaboration between the National Cancer Institute and Rutgers Cancer Institute, with the phase II study conducted at Rutgers Cancer Institute.
A clinical trial participant, Maria, a patient from Philadelphia, was diagnosed with advanced epithelial cancer before entering the trial. She has now reached 14 months of remission.
“When I finished my treatment, I couldn’t believe how quickly I started feeling better,” she said. “Within a month, the nodules were gone, and for the first time in years, I felt free, full of energy and living the life.
“I can spend time with my son, do the things I love and really enjoy life again. I’m so grateful to the team that made this possible and proud to be living proof of the difference their research can make.”
In a second study, investigators reported the extraordinary finding that two patients with metastatic cervical cancer remain in complete remission 10 years after receiving a single infusion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy.
Conducted as part of clinical trial NCT01585428, the study represents the strongest evidence to date that cellular therapy can produce long-term, potentially curative responses in epithelial cancers, the most common type of malignancy.
A decade after treatment, patients exhibited no evidence of disease based on imaging and circulating tumor DNA analysis. Administered anti-tumor T cells underwent a temporary expansion phase that coincided with tumor shrinkage and apparent elimination. Tumor responses have continued long after the T cell responses, suggesting that the tumors were cleared during the initial response.
“Findings like these highlight the importance of conducting research at an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center such as Rutgers Cancer Institute,” said Steven K. Libutti, M.D., FACS, William N. Hait Director, Rutgers Cancer Institute and senior vice president, Oncology Services, RWJBarnabas Health.
