Efficacy of Adoptive Immune-cell Therapy in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Retrospective Study

Takimoto R1, Kamigaki T2, Okada S2, Matsuda E2, Ibe H2, Oguma E2, Naitoh K2, Makita K2, Goto S2

Anticancer Res. 2017 Jul;37(7):3947-3954.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Conventional therapy for advancedgastriccancer (GC) has limited survival benefits. In this retrospectivestudy, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of immune-celltherapy, using in vitro-activated T-lymphocytes with and without dendritic cells (DCs), in combination with standard therapies in terms of the survival of patients with advanced GC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

A total of 242 patients who were diagnosed as having stage-IV GC were enrolled in this study to receive immune-celltherapy with or without standard therapies, such as chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation therapy. Overall survival was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier with log-rank test and Cox regression methods.

RESULTS:

Immune-celltherapy increased median survival time (21.5 months) in patients with advanced GC. The patients who underwent surgery with or without chemotherapy as a prior treatment showed better prognosis than those who received other therapies (p<0.001). Patients who showed stable disease or a partial response to immune-celltherapy had a better prognosis than those with progressive disease (p<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that performance status, the type of immune-celltherapy, and prior treatment were independent prognostic factors for patients with GC. No serious adverse event was reported in immune-celltherapy.

CONCLUSION:

Immune-celltherapy might extend the survival of patients with advanced GC.