OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy and safety of chemotherapy combined with intraperitoneal perfusion of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells for advanced gastric cancer patients with ascites.

METHODSFrom January 2008 to December 2010, 42 advanced gastric cancer patients with ascites in Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University were enrolled in the study. According to personal choice, patients were divided into 2 groups: XELOX chemotherapy alone (Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin) was applied in 22 patients (chemotherapy group) and XELOX combined with intraperitoneal perfusion of CIK cells in 20 patients (combination group). The efficacy, safety, and immunological function, including the time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS), Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score, immunity index (CD4+/CD8+ ratio), volume of peritoneal fluid, were compared between two groups.

RESULTSCompared with the chemotherapy group after treatment, the combination group had a higher KPS score (78.0±9.8 vs. 70.0±8.9, P=0.009), less volume of 2-cycle peritoneal fluid drainage [(4500±1218) ml vs. (5527±1460) ml, P=0.018 ], longer median TTP (4.0 vs. 2.5 months, P=0.001) and OS (11.0 vs. 6.0 months, P=0.006), higher ratio of CD4+/CD8+ (1.34±0.36 vs. 0.96±0.26, P=0.001). While no significant significances were found between the two groups in disease response rate (35.0% vs. 22.7%, P=0.499) and disease control rate (75.0% vs. 54.5%, P=0.209). There were no serious adverse reactions in the combination group.

CONCLUSIONSAs compared with XELOX chemotherapy alone, the combination immunological treatment of XELOX chemotherapy and intraperitoneal perfusion of CIK cells possesses better efficacy for the advanced gastric cancer patients with ascites, which can prolong the survival and enhance the immunological function with favorable safety.