Allogenic natural killer cell immunotherapy of sizeable ovarian cancer: A case report

Abstract

Abstract. Masses are often detected in the abdomen of patients with sizeable ovarian cancer. There are currently no effective treatments available for late-stage ovarian cancer. Immunotherapy is gaining increasing attention worldwide in the clinical setting due to its ability to eliminate tumor cells and its favorable toxicity profile. We herein report the case of a 60-year-old woman who received allogenic natural killer (NK) cell immunotherapy for a sizeable ovarian carcinoma and achieved a noteworthy response. NK cells were isolated from the patient's own peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and the cell numbers were increased to 8-10 billion. The activated cells were expanded ex vivo for 14 days prior to intravenous infusion. After six infusions of NK cell therapy >3 months, the level of carbohydrate antigen 125 decreased significantly (from 11,270 to 580 U/ml). Furthermore, the size of the masses in the abdomen was markedly reduced. Overall, the treatment had few adverse effects and it prolonged patient survival. The present data and the patient response suggest that allogenic NK cell immunotherapy is a promising approach for ovarian cancer, with few treatment-related adverse effects. The patient received six intravenous infusions of allogenic HANK cells

Engineering of immune checkpoints B7-H3 and CD155 enhances immune compatibility of MHC-I−/− iPSCs for β cell replacement

“…This is in line with the hypothesis that proper NK cell activation requires the integration, or the sum, of signals propagated by multiple counterreceptors ( Long et al., 2013 ). NK cells have both a critical physiological role in immune defense, surveillance, and homeostasis and emerging functions in tolerance, autoimmune disease, and immunotherapy, thus providing a link between the innate and the adaptive immune systems ( Trinchieri, 1989 ; Xie et al., 2017 ; Gianchecchi et al., 2018 ). Their greatly diversified physiopathological behavior is reflected in a substantial number of NK subsets identified according to the differential expression of the adhesion molecule CD56 and the activating receptor CD16 ( Freud et al., 2017 ; Zimmer, 2020 ).…”

Harnessing natural killer cells for the treatment of ovarian cancer

“…In six clinical studies only 31 patients are described that received NK cell adoptive transfer. The largest study on allogeneic NK cell adoptive transfer in OC is the study of Geller et al, which included 14 OC patients [59][60][61], while the other reports are case series. Patients were pretreated with cyclophosphamide and fludarabine (Cy-Flu) and in 5 patients the Cy-Flu was combined with total body irradiation to improve in vivo NK cell expansion.…”

“…The case report of Xie et al described the first OC patient treated with NK cells as primary treatment. A 60 year old patient, diagnosed in advanced stage OC with massive ascites and a sizeable tumor was treated with ex-vivo expanded, highly activated allogeneic NK cells [60]. These infusions of circa 1.5 × 10 9 NK cells were administered every 2 weeks and a total of 6 infusions were given.…”

Natural Killer Cell-Based Immunotherapy in Gynecologic Malignancy: A Review

“…No successful NK cell persistence or expansion was noted, likely as a result from recipient T reg expansion and reconstitution following therapy. Only two other small reports using allogeneic NK cell therapy in ovarian cancer have been published ( 174 , 175 ). Together, these studies suggest allogeneic NK cell therapy is feasible.…”