Anticancer research
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Anticancer research · Nov 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialProspective study of chemotherapy in combination with cytokine-induced killer cells in patients suffering from advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
The present study evaluated the clinical efficacy of chemotherapy in combination with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) biotherapy compared to the chemotherapy alone. Fifty-nine advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were randomly divided into two groups, group A (chemotherapy alone, including docetaxel 75 mg/m2, day 1; cisplatin, 25 mg/m2, days 1-4, tri-weekly) and group B (chemotherapy plus CIK cell transfusion). Autologous CIK cells were induced from the patients'peripheral mononuclear cells in vitro and separated by cytometry and then transfused back the patients. ⋯ Compared to patients in group A, the patients in group B had significantly longer progression-free survival (p = 0.042) and overall survival (p = 0.029). No severe side-effects occurred in the CIK cell transfusion patients. It was concluded that chemotherapy plus CIK cells has potential benefits compared to chemotherapy alone in patients suffering from advanced NSCLC and autologous CIK cell transfusion has no obvious side-effects.