We report our preliminary results of a pilot clinical trial of late-stage breast cancer patients treated by laser immunotherapy (LIT), a local intervention using an 805-nm laser for non-invasive irradiation, indocyanine green for selective thermal effect, and immunoadjuvant (glycated chitosan) for immunological stimulation. Ten breast cancer patients were enrolled in this study; all the patients were considered to be out of other available treatment options. Preliminary data of toxicity tolerance was individually evaluated through physical exams and laboratory tests. Adverse reactions only occurred in the area of treatment due to photothermal injury and local administration of immunoadjuvant. No grade 3 or 4 side effects were observed. Treatment efficacy of LIT was also evaluated by physical examination and tomography. In 8 patients available for evaluation, the objective response rate was 62.5% and the clinical beneficial response rate was 75%. While the study is still ongoing, the initial outcomes of this clinical trial show that LIT is well tolerated and is of great promise in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
Metastasis to distant sites is a severe treatment challenge and a major cause of death for breast cancer patients. Laser immunotherapy (LIT) is a novel technique, combining a selective photothermal therapy with local application of glycated chitosan, a potent immunoadjuvant. The pre-clinical studies of LIT have shown its unique characteristics in generating specific antitumor immunity. The clinical application of LIT in the treatment of melanoma patients has achieved preliminary success. Recently, LIT has been used to treat late-stage breast cancer patients. Here we report for the first time the clinical results of this combination therapy in breast cancer patients. The LIT treatment procedures are presented and the medical history of two stage IV breast cancer patients is reviewed. Most of the breast cancer lesions and the metastasis of lung and brain disappeared after repeated treatments of LIT. One patient achieved complete response; the other achieved partial response at the time of this report. Although there is still a long way for LIT to become a standard modality for breast cancer treatment, the results of this study indicated its promising future.
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