Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte immunotherapy for ovarian cancer: a pilot study.
The objective was to evaluate the toxicity and feasibility of intraperitoneal infusion of tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) as therapy for recurrent ovarian cancer, and to determine if repetitive cycles of CTL generation and infusion measurably increases the host's ovarian cancer immune response. In this study, 7 subjects with recurrent ovarian cancer confined to the peritoneal cavity underwent up to 4 cycles, each cycle beginning with a leukapheresis for collection of precursor lymphocytes, which were stimulated in vitro with mucin 1, a tumor-specific antigen found commonly in ovarian cancer cells. The resulting new CTL for each cycle were reintroduced into the host by intraperitoneal infusion. Immunologic parameters (killer cells, cytokine production, memory T lymphocytes, and natural killer cells) were studied. Toxicity, CA-125, and survival data were also evaluated. The tumor marker CA-125 was nonstatistically significantly reduced after the first month of immunotherapy. However, after that it rose. Killer cells, cytokine production, and memory T lymphocytes increased after the first cycle of stimulation, but plateaued or reduced thereafter. The percent of natural killer cells inversely correlated with other immune parameters. Median survival was 11.5 months. One subject is free of disease since December, 2000. Multiple cycles, beyond 1 cycle, of T-cell stimulation followed by adoptive T-cell infusion, may not enhance the in vivo immune response.
Amarillo Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA. stephen.wright@va.gov
Stephen E
SE
Wright
Kathleen A
KA
Rewers-Felkins
Imelda S
IS
Quinlin
Catherine A
CA
Phillips
Mary
M
Townsend
Ramila
R
Philip
Mark J
MJ
Dobrzanski
Pamela R
PR
Lockwood-Cooke
William
W
Robinson
D018394:CA-125 Antigen / Q000097:blood; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive / Q000379:methods*; D018396:Mucin-1 / Q000276:immunology; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000637:transplantation*
D018394:CA-125 Antigen; D018396:Mucin-1