Purpose: To explore the efficacy and safety of docetaxel/cisplatin concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) combined with dendritic cell-cytokine induced killer cell (DC-CIK) immunotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LANSCLC).
Methods: The clinical data of 142 LANSCLC patients treated in our hospital from March 2014 to March 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. 71 patients were treated with docetaxel/cisplatin CCRT (CCRT group), while the remaining 71 patients underwent CCRT combined with DC-CIK immunotherapy (DC-CIK group). The clinical data of all patients were collected, the short-term efficacy, the changes in serum immunological indexes and quality of life before and after treatment, and the incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups, and the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were recorded during the follow-up of patients.
Results: After treatment, the level of cluster of differentiation 3+ (CD3+) CD4+ T lymphocytes, CD4/CD8 ratio and CD56+ natural killer (NK) cell ratio significantly rose, while the level of CD3+ CD8+ T lymphocytes significantly declined in both groups compared with those before treatment. After treatment, the level of CD3+ CD4+ T lymphocytes, CD4/CD8 ratio and CD56+ NK cell ratio were obviously higher, while the level of CD3+ CD8+ T lymphocytes was obviously lower in DC-CIK group than those in CCRT group. At 12 months after treatment, both Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) score and quality of life (QOL) score in DC-CIK group were evidently higher than those in CCRT group. In CCRT group and DC-CIK group, 1-year OS was 74.6% and 83.1%, and 1-year PFS was 70.4% and 73.2%, respectively. 2-year OS was 45.1% and 57.7%, and 2-year PFS was 38.0% and 46.5%), respectively. 3-year OS was 26.8% and 40.8%, and 3-year PFS was 15.5% and 22.5%, respectively. It can be seen that both OS and PFS in DC-CIK group were remarkably superior to those in CCRT group.
Conclusion: Docetaxel/cisplatin CCRT combined with DC-CIK can significantly enhance the cellular immunity, improve the long-term survival rate and raise the quality of life of LANSCLC patients, with tolerable adverse reactions.