Cancers, Vol. 12, Pages 2471: Clinical Studies Applying Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells for the Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Cancers, Vol. 12, Pages 2471: Clinical Studies Applying Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells for the Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers12092471 Authors: Ying Zhang Jörg Ellinger Manuel Ritter Ingo G. H. Schmidt-Wolf There is growing interest in cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells on the integrated therapy of patients with RCC, especially those in the late stage or refractory to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this review, a total of 15 clinical studies including 681 patients enrolled in CIK cell immunotherapy were outlined. Three-hundred-and-eighty-two patients with RCC were treated with CIK cells alone or in combination with DC vaccination, targeted agents sunitinib or sorafenib, and the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab. Significantly improved 3-year overall survival rate was reported in four trials, whereas remarkably longer median progression-free survival was observed in three studies. Adverse reactions were mild and usually controllable fever and fatigue. Besides, preclinical research progresses were reviewed to increase our understanding about the underlying mechanisms of CIK cell cytotoxicity and identify potential targets to enhance their anti-tumor activity. These studies suggest that CIK cell-based immunotherapy has potential clinical benefits with a good safety profile and could become a promising approach in the combined therapies of RCC patients. However, further large-scale studies are required to evaluate the clini...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research