Clinical application of adoptive immunotherapy and IL-2 for the treatment of advanced digestive tract cancer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We investigated the clinical efficacy of systemic and loco regional adoptive immunotherapy (AIT) with or without interleukin-2 (IL-2) against solid metastatic lesions from digestive tract cancer, which are ref ractory to conventional chemotherapy or radiotherapy. METHODOLOGY: Seven of 18 patients received hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) of lymphokine-activat ed killer (LAK) cells with or without IL-2 against metastatic liver tumors (local therapy group). The remaining 11 patients received systemic transfer of LAK cells with IL-2 against metastatic lesions located in organs other than the liver (systemic therapy group). RESULTS: Three of the 7 local ther apy group patients showed clinically significant tumor regressions and this was evaluated as being equivalent to partial response (PR) (response rate: 43%). Two of the 11 systemic therapy group patients showed tumor regressio n which-was evaluated as being equivalent to either complete response (CR) or PR (response rate: 18%). These 2 effective cases in the systemic therapy group were esophageal cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Locoregional:AIT withe r without IL-2 against liver metastases of digestive tract cancer could be an effective therapeutic modality in some patients who are refractory to co nventional therapies. However, clinical efficacy of systemic AIT with IL-2 against metastases of digestive tract cancer would not be an effective moda lity except for the metastases of esophageal cancer.