T Cell-Mediated Immunotherapy Boosts Clinical Efficacy in the Treatment

Abstract

To investigate the anti-tumor efficacy and safety of adoptive cell therapy for the treatment of relapsed, refractory or chemotherapy-resistant lymphoma, we conducted a pilot clinical study using autologous anti-CD3 expanded T cells derived from patients with the diseases. A total of 12 patients, who were pathologically diagnosed with malignant lymphoma at various stages were enrolled in the study. PBMCs from the immunotherapy group were collected and expanded by anti-CD3 in the presence of IFNγ and IL2. The expanded T cells were then infused back to the patients, who were assessed for changes in lymphocyte subgroups, tumor-related biological parameters, imaging characteristics, and the condition of remission and survival. The overall response rate (ORR) to the therapy was 66.7% of the treated patients achieving the complete response (CR) and partial response (PR), with a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 43 months and median overall survival (OS) of 54 months separately. No severe toxicity or side effects were observed. Also, we found new factors influencing the clinical outcomes. The higher percentages of CD4 + T cells and CD4 + HLA