title: Selective effect of cytokine-induced killer cells on survival of patients with early-stage melanoma.
abstract: Adoptive immunotherapy using cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells has shown potential antitumor ability against several kinds of cancers, including melanoma. However, little is known about the achievable outcome of CIK cells in melanoma patients at different pathological stages. Here we recruited 55 patients treated with conventional therapy plus CIK cells as the CIK group, and 49 patients treated with conventional therapy alone as the control group. The pathological characteristics were comparable between two groups, with a follow-up period up to 40 months. Survival data and immune responses were evaluated after CIK cell treatment. In this study, CIK cells were successfully generated from peripheral blood of melanoma patients after in vitro culture for 14 days. The cultured CIK cells not only produced high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines upon in vitro stimulation but also efficiently killed human melanoma cell lines. No serious side events were observed in all patients treated with CIK cells. Furthermore, infusions of CIK cells improved the quality of life in some patients, including advanced cases. More importantly, the CIK group exhibited better survival rates compared to the control group among early-stage melanoma patients, in consistent with the increased frequency of peripheral CD4+T cells. However, the patients with advanced-stage melanoma did not benefit from the CIK cell therapy in terms of survival rate. In conclusion, CIK cells combined with conventional treatments may prolong the survival of early-stage melanoma patients and improve the quality of life for some advanced cases in a safe way.
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Building #9, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Building #9, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Linbo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Ximei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Building #9, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Building #9, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Dongli
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Xueli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Building #9, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Jianmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Building #9, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, China.
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Building #9, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Shuangning
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Building #9, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China. yizhang@zzu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000276:immunology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D055612:Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive / Q000379:methods*; D020014:K562 Cells; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis
keywords: Clinical efficiency; Cytokine-induced killer cells; Immunotherapy; Melanoma; Safety