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The Efficacy of Cytokine-Induced Killer Cell Infusion as an Adjuvant Therapy for Postoperative Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

  • Hepatobiliary Tumors
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Even after surgery, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has poor prognosis; adjuvant therapy is needed to improve effectively the outcome of HCC patients. We evaluated the efficacy of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell infusion as an adjuvant therapy for postoperative HCC patients.

Methods

A total of 410 patients were studied retrospectively (January 2002 to January 2007): 206 received surgery alone; 204 received surgery and at least four cycles of CIK cell transfusion (CIK group). Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to explore differences in OS between two groups.

Results

The CIK group overall survival rates were significantly higher than that of the surgery-alone group (log-rank test; p = 0.0007). Multivariate survival analysis showed that CIK cell treatment was an independent prognostic factor. In subgroup analysis, patients who received ≥8 cycles of CIK cell transfusion exhibited significantly better survival than the <8 cycle group (p = 0.0272). There was no significant difference in overall survival in patients with ≤5-cm tumors between the CIK and surgery-alone groups (p = 0.7567). However, in patients with >5-cm tumors, the CIK group displayed significantly better overall survival than the surgery-alone group (p = 0.0002).

Conclusions

Postoperative immunotherapy with CIK cell transfusion may be an effective adjuvant treatment for improving the outcomes of HCC patients; >8 cycles of CIK cell transfusion may ensure that patients derive maximal benefits. Moreover, patients with large tumors might benefit more from CIK cell adjuvant treatment than patients with small tumors.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by Health Industry Scientific Research project (200902002-2) and Guangdong Province Science and Technology Plan project (2011A030400004).

Disclosure

The authors indicate no potential conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China

    Ke Pan PhD, Wei Wang MD, Hai-Xia Zheng MD, Jing-Jing Zhao MD, Hui-Juan Qiu BS, De-Sheng Weng MD, Jian-Jun Li MD, Jian-Chuan Xia PhD & Yi-Xin Zeng PhD

  2. Department of Biotherapy, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China

    Ke Pan PhD, Yong-Qiang Li BS, Hai-Xia Zheng MD, Jing-Jing Zhao MD, De-Sheng Weng MD, Qi-Jing Wang BS, Li-Xi Huang BS, Jia He BS, Shi-Ping Chen BS, Miao-La Ke BS, Jian-Chuan Xia PhD & Yi-Xin Zeng PhD

  3. Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China

    Li Xu MD, Yao-Jun Zhang MD, Min-Shan Chen MD & Sheng-Ping Li MD

  4. Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China

    Pei-Hong Wu MD

Authors
  1. Ke Pan PhD
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  2. Yong-Qiang Li BS
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  18. Sheng-Ping Li MD
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  19. Jian-Chuan Xia PhD
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sheng-Ping Li MD or Jian-Chuan Xia PhD.

Additional information

Ke Pan, Yong-Qiang Li and Wei Wang contributed equally to this work.

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Pan, K., Li, YQ., Wang, W. et al. The Efficacy of Cytokine-Induced Killer Cell Infusion as an Adjuvant Therapy for Postoperative Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients. Ann Surg Oncol 20, 4305–4311 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-013-3144-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-013-3144-x

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