Mohammed Alnaggar1,2, Mao Lin3,4, Adnan Mesmar5, Shuzhen Liang4,5, Ammar Qaid2, Kecheng Xu2,3, Jibing Chen4,5, Lizhi Niu2,3,4, Zhinan Yin1. 1. Biomedical Translational Research Institute and the First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. 2. Department of Oncology, Fuda Cancer Hospital, Jinan University School, Guangzhou, China. 3. Department of Biological Treatment Center, Fuda Cancer Hospital, Jinan University School, Guangzhou, China. 4. Fuda Cancer Institute, Guangzhou, China. 5. Department of General surgery, Union Hospital , Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS: We evaluated the clinical effectiveness of irreversible electroporation (IRE) in combination with immunotherapy using allogenic natural killer cells (NK) for stage IV hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: The study involved 40 patients with stage IV HCC who were divided equally into two groups: 1) simple IRE; and 2) IRE plus allogenic NK cells (IRE-NK); we mainly assessed the overall survival (OS). RESULTS: The effect of the IRE-NK treatment was synergistic, i.e., not only did it enhance immune function, it also decreased alpha-fetoprotein expression and showed significantly good clinical effectiveness. At the median 7.6-month follow-up (range, 3.8-12.1 months), median OS was higher in the IRE-NK group (10.1 months) than in the IRE group (8.9 months, P = 0.0078). CONCLUSION: IRE combined with allogeneic NK cell immunotherapy significantly increases the median OS of patients with stage IV HCC.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: We evaluated the clinical effectiveness of irreversible electroporation (IRE) in combination with immunotherapy using allogenic natural killer cells (NK) for stage IV hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: The study involved 40 patients with stage IV HCC who were divided equally into two groups: 1) simple IRE; and 2) IRE plus allogenic NK cells (IRE-NK); we mainly assessed the overall survival (OS). RESULTS: The effect of the IRE-NK treatment was synergistic, i.e., not only did it enhance immune function, it also decreased alpha-fetoprotein expression and showed significantly good clinical effectiveness. At the median 7.6-month follow-up (range, 3.8-12.1 months), median OS was higher in the IRE-NK group (10.1 months) than in the IRE group (8.9 months, P = 0.0078). CONCLUSION: IRE combined with allogeneic NK cell immunotherapy significantly increases the median OS of patients with stage IV HCC.