Serum alpha-fetoprotein measurement in predicting clinical outcome related to autologous cytokine-induced killer cells in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergone minimally invasive therapy.
- Author:
Chang-Chuan PAN
1
;
Zi-Lin HUANG
;
Wang LI
;
Ming ZHAO
;
Qi-Ming ZHOU
;
Jian-Chuan XIA
;
Pei-Hong WU
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH: Adult; Aged; Biomarkers, Tumor; metabolism; CD4-CD8 Ratio; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; blood; immunology; therapy; Catheter Ablation; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic; Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells; transplantation; DNA, Viral; metabolism; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Hepatitis B virus; genetics; Humans; Immunotherapy, Adoptive; Liver Neoplasms; blood; immunology; therapy; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; T-Lymphocyte Subsets; immunology; alpha-Fetoproteins; metabolism
- From:Chinese Journal of Cancer 2010;29(6):596-602
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEIn patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving potentially curative minimally invasive therapy, autologous cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells were used to reduce recurrence. In this study we observed the changes in serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) after the treatment with CIK cells to explore if AFP could serve as a marker for predicting immunotherapeutic clinical outcome.
METHODSA total of 122 patients with HCC and elevated AFP (>25 ng/mL) received a curative treatment of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus radiofrequency ablation (RFA) at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. Of these patients, 83 patients without residual tumor or extrahepatic metastasis and with AFP level less than 1.5 times the normal range (AFP<37.5 ng/mL) were randomly assigned to the study group (n=42) and the control group (n=41). In the study group, CIK cells were transfused intravenously or via common hepatic arteries every week for at least 4 times, and the T-lymphocyte subset data before and after CIK cell infusions was examined by flow cytometry. All the two groups of patients were screened by tomography every 2 months to observe tumor recurrence. Serum AFP was collected at baseline and at different time points after treatment in parallel with radiologic response and clinical outcome.
RESULTSTwo patients in the control group were lost to follow-up after treatment. After CIK cell infusions, the downtrend of the AFP level was observed in the study group and not in the control group. There was a significant difference in the level of AFP between different time points after CIK infusions in both groups. The 1-year recurrence rate was 7.14% for the study group and 23.1% for the control group (P=0.044). In subgroup analysis, for patients with a slightly high level of AFP (25 ng/mL
CONCLUSIONSCIK cells transfusion may reduce the level of serum AFP and anti-HBV and decrease the 1-year recurrence rate of patients with HCC after curative TACE plus RFA. Serum AFP decrease after CIK cell treatment may serve as a useful marker for predicting immunotherapy clinical outcome in patients with HCC undergone curative minimally invasive therapy.
