Chemotherapy plus dendritic cells co-cultured with cytokine-induced killer cells versus chemotherapy alone to treat advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: A meta-analysis

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of the combination treatment of dendritic cells co-cultured with cytokine-induced killer cells and chemotherapy for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Literatures were searched from the Cochrane Library Central, PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE. The primary endpoint of interest was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints were disease control rate (DCR) and progression free survival (PFS). Finally 7 trials published between January 2005 and March 2016 met inclusion criteria and totally 610 patients were enrolled. The combination group showed advance in DCR (RR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.13-1.52, p = 0.0004), 1-year OS (RR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.05-1.33, p = 0.007), and 2-year OS (RR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.10-1.70, p = 0.005), with statistical significance. The proportions of CD3+ T cells (p = 0.002), NK cells (p = 0.02) and NKT cells (p = 0.001) were significantly higher in the peripheral blood of combination group, compared with those of the control group. Moreover, adverse reactions were obviously decreased in the combination group. However, no significant difference was identified in ORR and PFS between two groups (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the combination therapy was safe and applicable for patients with advanced NSCLC.

Enhanced antitumor effects and improved immune status of dendritic cell and cytokine-induced killer cell infusion in advanced cancer patients

“…An increasing amount of studies demonstrated that CIK cell-based immunotherapy is a promising new treatment modality with the potential of improving the prognosis of cancer patients (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)26,27). A study from the International Registry reported the results of 11 CIK cell treatment trials for a variety of cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer and Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and demonstrated a total response rate of 91/384 reported patients; 161 patients had stable disease and 129 patients had progressive disease.…”

“…and enhanced by dendritic cells (DCs), which are the main antigen-presenting cells (18,19). DCs present tumor antigens through MHCII molecules, preventing the immune escape of tumor cells.…”

Cytokine-induced killer cells/dendritic cells and cytokine-induced killer cells immunotherapy for the treatment of esophageal cancer in China: a meta-analysis

“…At present, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are most widely used for EC 4. However, their application is limited by the failure to thoroughly eliminate tumor cells, drug resistance and other adverse effects 5,6. Therefore, a more effective and safer therapeutic method is urgently required.…”

“…In recent years, immunotherapy has been rising rapidly and is considered the fourth powerful therapeutic method after surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy 6. Cancer immunotherapy is accomplished in multiple ways, including manipulation of the immune system through the use of immune agents, such as vaccines,7 cytokines,8 checkpoint inhibitors (including anti-programmed death 1 [PD-1]/PD-ligand 1 [PD-L1] antibodies and anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen (CTLA)-4 antibodies),9,10 kinase inhibitors (such as apatinib and gefitinib)11,12 and immune cells 13–19.…”

“…CIK cells, which consist primarily of the CD3 + CD56 + subset, are induced by interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-1, cluster of differentiation (CD)3 monoclonal antibodies (OKT3) and IL-2 in vitro 5. Compared with other immune cells, CIK cells are easy to obtain from peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells, and they possess higher in vitro proliferation capacity, stronger antitumor activity and broader antitumor spectrum 6. The tumoricidal ability of CIK cells is implemented by inducing tumor cell apoptosis through direct contact and secretion of cytokines such as IL-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IFN-γ 20.…”