title: Cytokine-induced killer cells in combination with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma patients.
abstract: This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of autologous cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell transfusion in combination with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), compared to sequential therapy with TACE and RFA, for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We retrospectively studied 2 groups of HCC patients: 85 patients in the TACE+RFA+CIK group were treated with adoptive autologous CIK cell transfusion in combination with minimally invasive therapy, 89 patients in the TACE+RFA group were treated with minimally invasive therapy alone. The overall response rate was 76.5% in the TACE+RFA+CIK group and 79.8% in the TACE+RFA group. The disease control rate was higher in the TACE+RFA+CIK group than that in the TACE+RFA group (95.3% vs. 88.8%), but the difference was not significant (P=0.113). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the patients in the TACE+RFA+CIK group had significantly longer overall survival (56 vs. 31 mo, P=0.001) and progression-free survival (17 vs. 10 mo, P=0.001) than those in the TACE+RFA group. No severe side effects occurred in the CIK cell transfusion patients. In conclusion, CIK cell immunotherapy may be a valuable therapeutic strategy to prevent recurrence and metastasis in HCC patients after TACE and RFA, and to improve patient prognosis and quality of life. Combined CIK immunotherapy and minimally invasive therapies represent a safe, potential treatment modality for HCC. However, because patient assignment to the 2 treatments was not randomized, any conclusions concerning improvements in survival must be interpreted with great caution.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Center of Medical Image and Image Guided Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Mei
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Qi-Ming
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Fang-Ming
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Chang-Chuan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Jian-Chuan
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Pei-Hong
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D002406:Catheterization, Peripheral; D016461:Chemoembolization, Therapeutic; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D055612:Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive / Q000379:methods*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult