Purpose: To investigate the safety and efficacy of locoregional therapy plus adoptive transfer of allogeneic gamma delta (γδ) T cells for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).
Methods: Thirty patients with HCC and 29 patients with ICC were randomly assigned to receive locoregional therapy (HCC, Group A, n = 15; ICC, Group C, n = 15) or locoregional therapy plus γδ T cell therapy (HCC, Group B, n = 15; ICC, Group D, n = 14). Groups A and C only received locoregional ablation (cryoablation or irreversible electroporation), whereas Groups B and D received locoregional therapy followed by adoptive transfer of allogeneic γδ T cells. The primary endpoints were safety, distant progression-free survival (PFS), local PFS, and overall survival (OS).
Results: The median distant PFS was significantly longer in the combined treatment groups than the locoregional treatment groups (HCC: 8 vs 4 months, P = .04; ICC: 8 vs 4 months, P = .021). There was no significant difference in local PFS between the 2 treatment modalities. Patients with HCC in the combined treatment group had a longer OS (median OS: 13 vs 8 months, P = .029). However, there was no significant difference in OS in patients with ICC between the 2 treatment modalities (median OS: 9.5 vs 8 months, P = .546). All adverse events were manageable with no significant difference in incidence between groups.
Conclusions: The novel combination of locoregional ablation with adoptive transfer of allogeneic γδ cells was safe, with encouraging clinical efficacy against HCC and ICC.
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