title: Dendritic cell-activated cytokine-induced killer cell-mediated immunotherapy is safe and effective for cancer patients >65 years old.
abstract: Individuals >65 years old account for a large proportion of cancer patients, and usually have poor prognoses due to relative weaker physiological function and lower drug tolerance. To characterize the efficacy and safety of dendritic cell (DC)-activated cytokine-induced killer cell (CIK)-mediated treatment, and develop an adoptive immunotherapy for cancer patients >65 years old, a retrospective study was performed in 58 cancer sufferers who received 1-4 cycles of DC-activated CIK (DC-CIK) treatment and evaluated the response (tumor remission rate) and toxicity (side effects to the treatment). The present results showed that DCs and CIKs could be expanded rapidlyin vitro, and following co-culture with DCs, the population of cluster of differentiation (CD) 3+, CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+and CD3+CD56+CIKs was significantly increased compared to CIKs without DC activation (P=0.044). In addition, DC-CIK infusion produced marked clinical outcomes, resulting in an objective remission rate, overall clinical benefit rate and Karnofsky performance status of 44.83, 75.86 and 87.28±5.46%, respectively, which was significantly improved compared with prior to treatment (P<0.05). Additionally, subsequent to two cycles of this immunotherapy, several tumor marker expression levels declined, returning to the normal range. The proportion of CD3+CD4+(P=0.017) and CD3+CD8+(P=0.023) lymphocytes, and the population of CD4/CD8 cells (P=0.024) were also increased. In conclusion, the present study suggests that the immunotherapy mediated by DC-CIK is safe and effective for cancer patients aged >65 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Department of Hematology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yanfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hausheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Pengcheng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Limei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mengchang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiejing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huaiyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Caili
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chunhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China; Biological Immune Therapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: cancer; cytokine-induced killer cells; dendritic cells; immunotherapy