The Efficacy of Cytokine-Induced Killer Cell Infusion as an Adjuvant Therapy for Postoperative Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

Abstract

Postoperative immunotherapy with CIK cell transfusion may be an effective adjuvant treatment for improving the outcomes of HCC patients; >8 cycles of CIK cell transfusion may ensure that patients derive maximal benefits. Moreover, patients with large tumors might benefit more from CIK cell adjuvant treatment than patients with small tumors.

A randomized controlled trial on patients with or without adjuvant autologous cytokine-induced killer cells after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma

“…25 On the other hand, Pan et al reported patients who received more than eight cycles of CIK transfusion exhibited significantly better survival than those patients who received <8 cycles. 27 In a recent RCT, patients who received 16 cycles of CIK infusion in 60 weeks after curative treatments had significantly better OS and RFS. 26 In our study, three patients received additional CIK infusions in the later post-operative years, and all of them are still alive and without any recurrence.…”

“…26 Similar results were obtained from a retrospective study on HCC after surgery which showed a significant survival benefit using CIK therapy. 27 A possible explanation on the inconsistency of CIK in providing any survival benefit in the different studies is the differences on the cycles of infusions and the durations of maintenance CIK treatment used. Another possibility is in the two studies with a positive impact of CIK on survival, higher portion of patients with very early stage HCC after curative treatment were included than our study, as well as patients treated with repeated ablation were included and CIK could give more favorable survivals in these patients.…”

“…Another possibility is in the two studies with a positive impact of CIK on survival, higher portion of patients with very early stage HCC after curative treatment were included than our study, as well as patients treated with repeated ablation were included and CIK could give more favorable survivals in these patients. 26,27 Currently, there are no standard dose which has been established for CIK therapy. In the previous studies, the number of CIK cells used per infusion ranged from 7.2 £ 10 6 to 2.1 £ 10 10 , and some patients were treated with up to 40 infusions of CIK.…”

“…27 Briefly, 50 mL of heparinized peripheral blood were obtained from the patients after two weeks of surgery. The PBMCs were separated by FicollHypaque density centrifugation, resuspended in fresh serum-free X-VIVO 15 medium containing 1,000 U/mL interferong (IFNg, ShangClone) at 2 £ 10 6 cells/mL and incubated at 37 C in a humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO 2 for 24 h. Then, 100 ng/mL mouse anti-human CD3 monoclonal antibody (R & D Systems), 100 U/mL Interleukin-1a (IL-1a, Life Technologies) and 1,000 U/mL human recombinant IL-2 (rhIL-2, Beijing Sihuan) were added.…”

Adjuvant cellular immunotherapy in patients with resected primary non-small cell lung cancer

“…16 This may be compensated by adoptive transfer of immune effector cells that mediate MHC-unrestricted cytolytic activity against tumor cells. A series of clinical studies have shown that adjuvant CIT, such as CIK cells and NK cells, can lead to promising antitumor effects on various cancers, [17][18][19][20][21] including lung cancer. 3,[22][23][24][25][26] Several reviews and meta-analysis reports have also demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of adjuvant CIT in clinics.…”