Clinical efficacy of DC-activated and cytokine-induced killer cells combined with chemotherapy in treatment of advanced lung cancer

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of DC-activated and cytokine-induced killer cells(DCIK)combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced lung cancer patients.Methods:Twenty-one patients,who were diagnosed as having advanced lung cancer in General Hospital of Chinese Armed Police Forces from Sept.2005 to Oct.2007,were treated by DCIK combined with systemic chemotherapy(combination therapy group);20 advanced lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy alone served as controls.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC)were isolated from patients of combination therapy group before chemotherapy,and PBMC were induced to DCIK in vitro.DCIK were administered to patients in the combination group after 2 periods of systemic chemotherapy.The patients in chemotherapy group were treated with 2 periods of systemic chemotherapy alone.Short-term effect,quality of life,immunological indices and survival rates were observed.Results:The short-term effects were not significantly different between the 2 groups,with the clinical efficacy being 42.9% and 40.0%,disease control rates being 66.7% and 60.0%(P0.05).KPS score was increased in the combination therapy group(P0.05)after treatment and showed no improvement in the chemotherapy group(P0.05).The numbers of CD3+CD18+,CD3+CD56+cells in the peripheral blood of combination therapy group were significantly increased(P0.01)after treatment,while those in the chemotherapy group had no significant change(P0.05).The 1-year,and 2-year survival rates of the combined therapy group were higher that those of the chemotherapy group(57.1% vs 50.0%,P0.05;28.6% vs 15.0%,P0.01).Conclusion:DCIK combined with chemotherapy shows a better clinical efficacy in treatment of advanced lung cancer,with improved quality of life,immune function and survival rate.