Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer

Abstract Background: TNFα is a cytokine produced by immune cells and by tumor cells. The soluble forms of membrane TNF receptors 1/2 (sTNF-R1/2) act as decoy to neutralize TNFα, and are highly abundant in cancer patients. Elimination of sTNF-R1/2 may therefore unmask endogenous TNFα, to presumably exert anti-neoplastic effects and reverse resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Immune Apheresis (IA) is a procedure designed to specifically capture sTNF-R1/2 from plasma by passing it over an affinity column. Here we employed Immunicom’s LW-02 Immunopheresis® device for removal of sTNF-R1/2 from plasma of cancer patients.