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.

Background Secretory carcinoma of salivary glands (SCSGs) are generally low-grade salivary gland carcinomas, and are characterized by morphological resemblance to mammary analogue secretory carcinoma and ETV6–NTRK3 gene fusion. Several reports on histopathological features of SCSG have recently been published; however, little is known about the clinical characteristics of this new tumor, including its outcomes. The research is to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of secretory carcinoma of major salivary glands and to analyze outcomes of these carcinomas as a reference for standardizing their diagnosis and treatment. Methods The cohort of this retrospective study comprised 23 patients treated for histopathologically-confirmed SCSG between January 2010 and December 2020. Their clinical characteristics and outcomes were retrieved from patient files. Results The 23 patients comprised 13 male and 10 female patients (male:female ratio 1.3:1). They were aged 10–69 years (median 45 years) and the average duration of disease was 2.44 years (0.25–20 years). Twenty-one patients (91.3%) had SCSGs in the parotid gland and two (8.7%) in the submandibular gland. All 23 patients had single nodules with diameters of 0.8–4.8 cm (average 2.6 cm). Five patients had lymph node metastases and two had distant metastases. All tumors were pathologically diagnosed as SCSGs. Immunohistochemical staining was strongly positive for S-100, mammaglobin, CK7, and Gata3, and negative for Dog1, P63 and calponin. Ki-67 positivity ranged from 1–50%. Fluorescence in situ hybridization data were available for 15 patients, in all of whom ETV6 gene rearrangement was confirmed. All patients had undergone oncological resections. Four had radioactive particles implanted postoperatively, one received chemotherapy, and seven underwent chemoradiotherapy. Six patients had regional recurrences, two distant metastases, and one had died at the time of last follow-up. Conclusions SCSGs are typically indolent with a low rate of locoregional recurrence and excellent survival. Their prognosis is correlated with clinical stage, pathological grade, and surgical procedures performed.