Transcatheter arterial injection of autologous lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells into patients with liver cancers.

We studied the effect of transcatheter arterial injection of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells in conjunction with interleukin-2 on 13 patients with liver cancers, 9 primary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), and 4 metastatic liver cancers. Based on the fact that the LAK-cell phenomenon was observed to exist equally in these patients as in healthy controls, an injection of autologous LAK cells into these patients was performed. Of 13 patients receiving LAK cells plus interleukin-2, one had a partial response and three had minor responses. The response duration of this "partial-response" patient was around 6 months after the LAK-cell injection. Simultaneously, a reduction of serum AFP level was found in six of eight HCC patients. One patient having a minor response after receiving this therapy had severe side effects, such as dyspnea and hypotension. The others had only a transient fever which was easy to control by medication. Thus the present study indicates that a measurable tumor regression and a reduction of serum AFP level are observed in some liver cancers after undergoing this therapy.