Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of death from cancer in the United States (US) and the most prevalent malignant tumor worldwide. CRC refers to cancer in the colon or rectum, the two parts that make up the large intestine. In the US, deaths from CRC in people under 55 have been increasing since the mid-2000s, highlighting the need for effective treatments.
New data published in The Journal of Immunology , reveal that cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell therapy improved overall survival and progression-free survival of patients with CRC. CIK cell therapy uses the patient's immune cells to target and destroy cancer cells. Patients who received CIK cell therapy with chemotherapy or surgery showed improved outcomes regardless of whether they had early or advanced stages.
"For advanced colorectal cancer, the prognosis has been rather pessimistic, and patients at stages II-III face a relatively high risk of recurrence and metastasis following surgery, with limited treatment options for these patients. CIK cell therapy could enhance the survival of patients with CRC compared to traditional therapies," said Dr. Yi Zhang, Director of the Biotherapy Center at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, who led the study.
Despite the positive outcomes of CIK cell therapy, some patients do not respond to the treatment. Researchers analyzed blood samples from patients to determine whether any biomarkers could predict who would respond well to CIK cell therapy. They found that CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) levels in a patient's blood could indicate whether they would benefit from CIK cell therapy. CEA is expressed in some CRC patients who undergo surgery and is considered an indicator of poor prognosis and disease recurrence. These results could pave the way for a simple blood test administered before treatment, which could improve patient survival.
"The long-term effects of CIK cell therapy for CRC patients had not been understood until now. The promising results of our study will hopefully facilitate the widespread adoption of cell therapies for treating malignant tumors, including CRC," said Dr. Zhang.
This retrospective study followed two groups of patients after they received treatment. The CIK group that received CIK cell therapy with chemotherapy or surgery and the control group that received chemotherapy and/or surgery. Patients were enrolled in the study from 2008 to 2014 and were followed through January 2020. Researchers monitored both the time between the first treatment and when a patient's disease worsened (progression-free survival) and the time between the first treatment and death (overall survival). Comparing the results of progression-free survival and overall survival within the CIK group, researchers investigated different biomarkers in patients' blood that may be most relevant to predicting survival.
The researchers plan to continue this work by investigating the effects of combining CIK therapy with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy in the treatment of CRC and by conducting prospective clinical studies to establish CIK cell therapy as a treatment for CRC.
The research article is available in The Journal of Immunology
