DC-CIK cells combined with surgical treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract:

Objective：To evaluate the clinical efficacy of dendritic cells-cytokine induced killer（DC-CIK） cells combined with surgi－cal treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC）. Methods：Totally 67 patients with HCC were randomly divided into treatment group （n=34） and control group（n=33）. The patients in control group were received hepatectomy while those in treatment group were given hepatectomy combined with DC-CIK cell treatment. The immune function，quality of life，tumor recurrence rate and adverse reactions were analyzed postoperatively. Results：In treatment group，the proportion of CD3+，CD4+，CD16+CD56+ and the ratio of CD4+ against CD8+ were increased and the proportion of CD8+ effect cells was decreased significantly after DC-CIK cell treatment compared with those before DC-CIK cell treatment，with statistical differences（P<0.05）. After treatment，the proportion of CD3+，CD4+，CD16+CD56+ and the ratio of CD4+ against CD8+ were increased and the proportion of CD8+ effect cells was decreased significantly in treatment group compared with those in control group，with statistical differences（P<0.05）. Quality of life of 61.8% patients in treatment group was improved，significantly higher than that of 36.4% in control group（P<0.05）. The 1-year survival rate and 1-year recurrence rate in treatment group and control group were 91.2% vs. 81.8% and 8.8% vs. 15.2% respectively，with no significant statistical difference between two groups（P >0.05）. The side effects of DC-CIK cells treatment were fever，chills and could be alleviated after symptomatic treatment. Conclusions：DC-CIK cells combined with surgical treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma is safe and effec－tive and it plays an important role in improving immune function and quality of life of HCC patients.