CLINICAL EFFECTS OF CHEMOIMMUNOTHERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH PERITONEAL CARCINOMATOSIS

The present study was undertaken to determine whether chemoimmunothera py using activated killer cells is better than chemotherapy alone for cancer patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis. Thirty-one cancer pati ents received adoptive immunotherapy by activated killer cells and che motherapy by anticancer drugs selected by a chemosensitivity test (che moimmunotherapy group), and another 31 cancer patients received chemot herapy (chemotherapy group). The regimen of chemotherapy was determine d by the results of a chemosensitivity test in both groups. The clinic al effects including response rate and survival were assessed. Five pa tients (16.1%) achieved complete response (CR), and 17 patients (54.8% ) partial response (PR) in the chemoimmunotherapy group (response rate : 22/31 patients = 71.0%), whereas 4 patients (12.9%) achieved CR, and 5 patients (16.1%) PR in the chemotherapy group (response rate: 9/31 patients = 29.0%). The response rate was higher in chemoimmunotherapy group than in chemotherapy group (p<0.05). However, no difference was observed in survival between the two groups. Therefore, it is necessar y to develop methods to induce more potent killer cells for adoptive i mmunotherapy.