Remarkable regression of a lung recurrence from an undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver treated with a DC vaccine combined with immune cells: a case report

Cellular based immunotherapy for primary liver cancer

Primary liver cancer (PLC) is a common malignancy with high morbidity and mortality. Poor prognosis and easy recurrence on PLC patients calls for optimizations of the current conventional treatments and the exploration of novel therapeutic strategies. For most malignancies, including PLC, immune cells play crucial roles in regulating tumor microenvironments and specifically recognizing tumor cells. Therefore, cellular based immunotherapy has its instinctive advantages in PLC therapy as a novel therapeutic strategy. From the active and passive immune perspectives, we introduced the cellular based immunotherapies for PLC in this review, covering both the lymphoid and myeloid cells. Then we briefly review the combined cellular immunotherapeutic approaches and the existing obstacles for PLC treatment.

Emerging trends in immunotherapy for pediatric sarcomas

While promising, immunotherapy has yet to be fully unlocked for the preponderance of cancers where conventional chemoradiation reigns. This remains particularly evident in pediatric sarcomas where standard of care has not appreciably changed in decades. Importantly, pediatric bone sarcomas, like osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma, possess unique tumor microenvironments driven by distinct molecular features, as do rhabdomyosarcomas and soft tissue sarcomas. A better understanding of each malignancy’s biology, heterogeneity, and tumor microenvironment may lend new insights toward immunotherapeutic targets in novel platform technologies for cancer vaccines and adoptive cellular therapy. These advances may pave the way toward new treatments requisite for pediatric sarcomas and patients in need of new therapies.

Pulmonary Metastases from an Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver: A Case Report and Review

Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver (UESL) is a rare malignant hepatic tumor that occurs primarily in children. Only a limited number of cases have been reported in the literature due to low incidence of one per million, and reports of metastatic lesion of UESL are even rarer. We hereby describe the case of a 13-year-old male who presented with a palpable mass with imaging findings suggestive of a large complex tumor in the right lobe of the liver. He underwent extended right hepatectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. The tumor was confirmed to be UESL by postoperative pathology and immunohistochemical staining analysis. Four years later, surveillance imaging revealed a small lung nodule in the left lower lobe. Complete removal of the lung tumor by wedge resection was performed, and a histological diagnosis of metastatic UESL was made. The patient also received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and is currently in a good general condition and tumor-free in the present eight-month period. This case is presented with emphasis on clinicopathological and immunohistochemical findings of the primary UESL and lung metastases with the aim of collecting more data and expanding our understanding of this rare malignancy.

Effect of cytokine-induced killer cells combined with dendritic cells on the survival rate and expression of 14-3-3ζ and p-Bad proteins in Lewis lung cancer cell lines

In the present study, the function and mechanism of cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) combined with dendritic cells (DC-CIK) were examined in Lewis lung cancer (LLC) cells. Co-culture of CIK dendritic cells (DC) in vitro was used to investigate their proliferation and the antitumor effects on LLC cells. DC and CIK cells were collected from healthy human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and co-cultured as an experimental group, while LLC cells were cultured alone as a control group. Cell morphology was observed by an inverted microscope and an MTT assay was utilized to detect the proliferation of LLC cells. Expression of 14-3-3ζ and p-Bad were measured by western blot analysis. Compared with the control group, treatment of LLC cells with DC-CIK resulted in decreased cell adherence, reduced cell proliferation and abnormal morphological changes. Additionally, DC-CIK treatment of LLC cells resulted in the decreased expression of 14-3-3ζ and p-Bad protein in LLC cells, which may provide important information pertaining to the possible mechanism of DC-CIK-induced antitumor activity against LLC cells. The present study provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the clinical treatment of DC-CIK cell co-culture.

A single-center experience with undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver

Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver (UESL) is a rare aggressive mesenchymal pediatric tumor. Previously, reported outcomes have been very poor. Here, we report a single-center experience of five patients with UESL treated with upfront gross total resection and adjuvant chemotherapy. We have a median follow-up of 8 years with a range from 5 to 19 years with 100% event-free survival.