Abstract: Provided are methods for treating cancer by converting tumor-resident macrophages into a hybrid M1/M2 macrophage phenotype; this phenotype has attributes that are advantageous for cancer therapy. Hybrid markers include (lower than M2, higher than M1): SPP1, CD209, and CD206, and induced markers include MERTK, C1QC, IFNa, IFNb, CXCL10, 4-1BBL, and MYC. The methods include administering a therapeutic that effects the phenotypic conversion. Therapeutics, such as delivery vehicles, including immunostimulatory bacteria with genome modifications, are designed so that they do not induce or result in a sufficient TLR2, TLR4, TLR5 response to inhibit type I IFN. The therapeutics also encode a payload that encodes immunostimulatory proteins, such as a cytokine and a modified cytosolic DNA/RNA sensor that constitutively induces type I IFN, such as a modified STING protein.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods for isolating and cryopreserving tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and producing therapeutic populations of TILs, including methods via use of a kit and a semi-automatic device for aseptic disaggregation, enrichment, and cryopreservation of a resected tumor prior to expansion of the TIL population. The present invention also provides methods for expansion, and/or stabilization of TILs, for instance UTILs, compositions involving the same and methods of treatment involving the same.