Human leukocyte antigen-haploidentical donor-derived cytokine-induced killer cells are safe and prolong the survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of administering cytokine-induced killer cells (termed allogeneic CIKs), obtained from the blood of the offspring of patients, for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Symptoms, signs and laboratory assessment results for 303 cancer patients were collected prior to and following treatment with autologous or allogeneic CIKs. In addition, 54 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were enrolled and divided into allogeneic CIK and optimal support groups (n=27 per group) according to gender, age, Karnofsky performance status score, TNM stage and histological type. In addition, overall survival (OS) was compared between the two groups. A total of 303 patients were treated with CIKs for 647 cycles, with 308 and 339 cycles in the autologous and allogeneic CIK groups, respectively. The mean number of CIKs in the autologous and allogeneic groups was 2.11±0.32×1010 and 2.29±0.36×1010, respectively, with no marked differences identified between the two groups (t=1.147; P>0.05). The predominant adverse events included insomnia, fever, nausea, vomiting and mild abdominal pain, which were found, respectively, in nine (6.8%), eight (6.0%), two (1.5%) and one (0.8%) patients receiving autologous CIKs and 11 (6.5%), 10 (5.9%), one (0.6%) and one (0.6%) patients receiving allogeneic CIKs, with no marked differences identified between the two groups (P>0.05). Adverse events were not associated with cell count, frequency or duration of treatment. Following CIK treatment, the outcomes of routine blood tests, and liver and kidney function tests, as well as immune function and electrocardiogram examinations remained unchanged (P>0.05). The median OS was 11.0 months (95% confidence interval (CI), 8.6-13.4 months) and 8.0 months (95% CI, 5.3-10.7 months) for NSCLC patients receiving allogeneic CIKs and optimal support, respectively; a statistically significant difference was identified (χ2=5.618; P=0.018). The present study demonstrated that CIKs from human leukocyte antigen haploidentical donors are safe and prolong the survival of NSCLC patients.