Abstract
In this study, we investigated the efficacy of sequential cytokine-induced killer cell (CIK) immunotherapy with gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GC) regimen chemotherapy in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. Between September 2006 and April 2010, 222 NPC patients with distant metastasis after radiotherapy completion were retrospectively analyzed: 112 patients received 4-6 cycles of GC chemotherapy at 4-week intervals, followed by at least 4 cycles of CIK immunotherapy at 2-week intervals (GC+CIK group); the remaining 110 patients received 4-6 cycles of GC chemotherapy alone (GC group). The evaluation of long-term efficacy showed that the progression-free survival (PFS) rate was significantly higher in the GC+CIK group (log-rank test; p = 0.009), as was the overall survival (OS) rate (p = 0.006). In conclusion, sequential CIK treatment may be effective in enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of GC chemotherapy for metastatic NPC patients. This study provides a basis for alternative therapeutic strategies for metastatic NPC.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e0130620 |
Journal | PloS one |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 22 2015 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- General