No abstract

With the development of cancer immunotherapy, cancer vaccine has become a novel modality for cancer treatment, and the important role of adjuvant has been realized recently. Chitin, chitosan, and their derivatives have shown their advantages as adjuvants for cancer vaccine. In this paper, the adjuvant properties of chitin and chitosan were discussed, and some detailed information about glycated chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles was also presented to illustrate the trend for future development.

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.

No abstract

No abstract