Intrapleural adaptive immunotherapy for breast cancer patients with cytologically-confirmed malignant pleural effusions: an analysis of 67 patients in Kyoto and Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
Sixty-seven breast cancer patients with cytologically-confirmed malignant pleural effusion, who required intrapleural treatment, were analyzed retrospectively. The patients received their first thoracentesis between 1980 and 1990. Among them, 29 patients received intrapleural administration of OK-432, a streptococcal preparation, followed by the transfer of autologous pleural effusion lymphocytes cultured with interleukin-2. Other intrapleural treatments consisted of OK-432 alone (12 patients), chemotherapeutic agents alone (n = 9), a combination of OK-432 and chemotherapy (n = 16), or others (n = 1). Twenty-six of the 29 patients given OK-432 plus cultured effusion lymphocytes responded, while only 15 of the 38 patients who received other treatments did (p < 0.01). Median survival time and 5-year survival rate of patients who received OK-432 and cultured lymphocytes was 12 months and 36%, while those of the patients who received other treatments was 3 months and 0%, a significant (p < 0.001) difference in survival. Multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazard model revealed that the treatment (adoptive immunotherapy) was the most significant (p < 0.005) factor to prolong the survival of the patients among several prognostic factors. Thus, OK-432 and adoptive immunotherapy is a promising therapy that should be further evaluated in a prospective study.
Kan
N
N
First Department of Surgery, Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine, Japan.
Kodama
H
H
Hori
T
T
Takenaka
A
A
Yasumura
T
T
Kato
H
H
Ogawa
H
H
Mukaihara
S
S
Kudo
T
T
Ohsumi
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010844:Picibanil / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000628:therapy*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
D010844:Picibanil