PURPOSE

This retrospective study determined the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin test and safety of dendritic cell (DC) vaccine and cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell immunotherapy and the survival compared to chemotherapy in 239 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

METHODS

DTH and safety of the immunotherapy were recorded. The overall survival (OS) and disease free survival curves were compared according to the immunotherapy and/or chemotherapy received with Kaplan-Meier estimates.

RESULTS

Of the 70 patients who received immunotherapy, 62.86% had a positive DTH skin test, 38.57% developed fever, 47.14% developed insomnia, 38.57% developed anorexia, 4.29% developed joint soreness, and 11.43% developed skin rash. For 204 resectable CRC patients, median survival time (MST) (198.00 days) was significantly longer in patients with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy than with chemotherapy alone (106.00 days) (P = 0.02). For 35 patients with unresectable or postsurgery relapsed CRC and who were confirmed to be dead, no statistical difference was observed in the MST between the patients treated with immunotherapy and with chemotherapy (P = 0.41). MST in the patients treated with chemotherapy plus immunotherapy was 154 days longer than that of patients treated with chemotherapy alone (P = 0.41).

CONCLUSIONS

DC vaccination and CIK immunotherapy did not cause severe adverse effects, induce immune response against CRC, and prolong OS.