Tumor specific CTL therapy for advanced cancer and development for cancer vaccine.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is a virulent disease with a poor prognosis despite multidisciplinary treatment. The present study was designed to clarify the clinical effects of tumor specific cytotoxic T Lymphocyte (CTL) therapy as multidisciplinary treatment for patients with advanced cancer.

METHODOLOGY

The enrolled advanced cancer patients had distant metastases derived from gastric cancer, colon cancer and bilio-pancreatic cancer. The patients had received the chemotherapy according to the results of chemosensitivity test and adoptive immunotherapy by various kinds of the activated killer cells.

RESULTS

There was no severe toxicity, except fever and mild myelo-suppression. Six patients had complete response, and 18 patients had partial response out of 38 enrolled patients. The performance status was improved in responders (p<0.01); however, it was not changed in non-responders. Furthermore, the ratio of discharge of the responders was higher than that of non-responders.

CONCLUSIONS

It was clarified that tumor-specific CTL therapy as multidisciplinary treatment is clinically valuable, especially in terms of quality of life. For developing the new strategy against cancer, CEA specific cancer vaccine trials have just started.