Cytokine-induced killer cell infusion combined with conventional treatments produced better prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma patients with barcelona clinic liver cancer B or earlier stage: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Radiofrequency ablation combined with immunotherapy to treat hepatocellular carcinoma: a comprehensive review

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly immunogenic tumor and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with an increasing incidence. Therefore, the combination of immunotherapy with other approaches, such as anti-angiogenic agents and local area therapy, has become a new strategy for HCC treatment.

METHODS

We searched PubMed and Web of Science and extracted publications relating to the radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and immunotherapy. The search terms were: "radiofrequency ablation", "immunotherapy" and "hepatocellular carcinoma", and manual searches of eligible articles from literature reference lists were performed. We then thoroughly reviewed the literature on ablation combined with immunotherapy for HCC, analyzed the relevant mechanism, and explored the safety and effectiveness of this form of combination therapy.

RESULTS

RFA combined with immunotherapy in HCC is reported to have good efficacy and controllable safety. On the one hand, RFA can induce the immunogenic substances including Ficolin-3, IL-1 and heat shock protein and regulate the immune cells by mediating the Th1/Th2 ratio, increasing Th17 cells, etc. On the other hand, RFA treatment can lead to tumor immune microenvironment reconstruction, increasing the proportion of functional T cells and upregulate PD-1 in T cells in distant tumors without RFA. This combined strategy has the ability to enhance the anti-tumor immune response through synergies, significantly reduce the risk of recurrence and improve survival.

CONCLUSIONS

RFA combined with immunotherapy yields a good synergistic effect: it can further strengthen anti-tumor response, delay distant tumor growth, reduce tumor recurrence and metastasis, providing new options for HCC systemic treatment.

Research trends of cellular immunotherapy for primary liver cancer: A bibliometric analysis

Cellular immunotherapy has shown considerable potential for the treatment of primary liver cancer (PLC), particularly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), although it is in the early stages of development. This study used bibliometric methods to delineate the evolution of research on cellular immunotherapy for PLC. Data were sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) on April 22, 2024. Using the "Bibliometrix" R package, we examined primary bibliometric features, collaboration frequency between countries, and article output of the journals. Furthermore, we employed VOSviewer for coauthorship analysis and visualization and CiteSpace to assess keyword co-occurrence, as well as to spotlight keywords and references with the strongest citation bursts. Our analysis encompassed 492 publications focused on PLC and cellular immunotherapy, and we pinpointed China, Japan, and the USA as the foremost contributing nations and identified "Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy" as the journal with the most contributions in this area. Sun Yat-sen University emerged as the institution with the most significant output, and Li Zonghai authored the greatest number of leading articles. Prominent keywords that displayed a notable citation burst in the later years included "chimeric antigen receptor," "combination therapy", "CAR-T cells," "TCR-T cells," and "liver transplantation." This bibliometric study outlined a foundational knowledge framework, surveyed over three decades of research on cellular immunotherapy for PLC, and revealed the key players and trends, thereby offering a thorough understanding of the field, especially in relation to HCC.

Treatment Options for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Immunotherapy: Present and Future

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer, and the body's immune responses greatly affect its progression and the prognosis of patients. Immunological suppression and the maintenance of self-tolerance in the tumor microenvironment are essential responses, and these form part of the theoretical foundations of immunotherapy. In this review, we first discuss the tumor microenvironment of HCC, describe immunosuppression in HCC, and review the major biomarkers used to track HCC progression and response to treatment. We then examine antibody-based therapies, with a focus on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), monoclonal antibodies that target key proteins in the immune response (programmed cell death protein 1, anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4, and programmed death-ligand 1) which have transformed the treatment of HCC and other cancers. ICIs may be used alone or in conjunction with various targeted therapies for patients with advanced HCC who are receiving first-line treatments or subsequent treatments. We also discuss the use of different cellular immunotherapies, including T cell receptor (TCR) T cell therapy and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. We then review the use of HCC vaccines, adjuvant immunotherapy, and oncolytic virotherapy, and describe the goals of future research in the development of treatments for HCC.

Meta analysis of the second course of radiotherapy for recurrent esophageal cancer1

BACKGROUND

How to improve efficacy and reduce side effects in treating recurrent esophageal cancer by applying the second course of radiotherapy alone and its combination with chemotherapy has been attracting broad research interest.

OBJECTIVE

This review paper aims to systematically evaluate efficacy and side effects of applying the second course of anterograde radiotherapy alone and its combination with chemotherapy in treating recurrent esophageal cancer.

METHODS

First, the relevant research papers are retrieved from PubMed, CNKI and Wanfang databases. Next, Redman 5.3 software is used to calculate the relative risk and 95% confidence interval to evaluate the efficacy and adverse reactions of applying the single-stage radiotherapy with and without combining single/multi dose chemotherapy to treat recurrent esophageal cancer. Then, a meta data analysis is applied to examine the effectiveness and side effects of radiation alone and re-course radiotherapy plus chemotherapy in treating esophageal cancer recurrence after the first radiotherapy.

RESULTS

Fifteen papers are retrieved, which included 956 patients. Among them, 476 patients received radiotherapy combined with single drug/multi drug chemotherapy (observation) and others received only radiotherapy (control). Data analysis results show that the incidence of radiation induced lung injury and bone marrow suppression is high in the observation group. Subgroup analysis also shows the higher effective rate or one-year overall survival rate of patients treated with the second course radiotherapy combined with single drug chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

The meta-analysis result demonstrates that combining the second course of radiotherapy with single-drug chemotherapy has advantages in treating recurrent esophageal cancer with the manageable side effects. However, due to insufficient data, it is not possible to conduct the further subgroup analysis comparing the side effects of restorative radiation with the combined chemotherapy using between a single drug and multiple drugs.

The Synergistic Effect of Interventional Locoregional Treatments and Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Immunotherapy has remarkably revolutionized the management of advanced HCC and prompted clinical trials, with therapeutic agents being used to selectively target immune cells rather than cancer cells. Currently, there is great interest in the possibility of combining locoregional treatments with immunotherapy for HCC, as this combination is emerging as an effective and synergistic tool for enhancing immunity. On the one hand, immunotherapy could amplify and prolong the antitumoral immune response of locoregional treatments, improving patients' outcomes and reducing recurrence rates. On the other hand, locoregional therapies have been shown to positively alter the tumor immune microenvironment and could therefore enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy. Despite the encouraging results, many unanswered questions still remain, including which immunotherapy and locoregional treatment can guarantee the best survival and clinical outcomes; the most effective timing and sequence to obtain the most effective therapeutic response; and which biological and/or genetic biomarkers can be used to identify patients likely to benefit from this combined approach. Based on the current reported evidence and ongoing trials, the present review summarizes the current application of immunotherapy in combination with locoregional therapies for the treatment of HCC, and provides a critical evaluation of the current status and future directions.

Immunotherapy and Hepatocellular Cancer: Where Are We Now?

Immunotherapy has demonstrated its effectiveness in many cancers. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), promising results shown in the first phase II studies evaluating anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 monotherapies resulted in their approval in the United States. Approval was not obtained in Europe; subsequent randomized studies in first- or second-line treatment did not confirm these initial results. However, first data with immunotherapy plus antiangiogenic treatments or dual immunotherapy combinations were positive. In this context, the combination of bevacizumab and atezolizumab took the lead. The IMbrave150 trial revealed an improved objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival, and overall survival with this combination versus the previous standard, sorafenib. Subsequent results of dual immunotherapy with the anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 monotherapies tremelimumab and durvalumab (also superior to sorafenib monotherapy) confirmed the value of using a combination in first-line treatment. These significant therapeutic advances, and the increase in ORR, raise two main questions. Whereas response was very limited with previous treatments, the ORR reported with these new combinations are between 20% and 30%. This raises the question of whether immunotherapy (ICI single agent, combination of ICI with antiangiogenic agent or other antitumoral treatment) can be used in patients beyond those in BCLC group C, the traditional candidate group for systemic therapy. We have thus seen an increasing number of patients previously treated with trans-arterial chemoembolization (BCLC group B) receiving these new treatments, and we develop the results of several studies combining loco-regional therapies and immunotherapy-based systemic treatments. The other major question is that of how and when to use these medical treatments as "adjuvants" to interventional radiology or surgery; the results of several works are discussed for this purpose. In this review, we cover all of these points in a fairly comprehensive manner.

Efficacy and Safety of Cellular Immunotherapy by Local Infusion for Liver Tumor: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Cellular immunotherapy has become a new and promising treatment for patients with liver tumor. However, as most immune cells are delivered by intravenous injection, the effect is limited and is likely to produce systemic toxicity. Here, the objective was to investigate the efficacy and safety of cellular immunotherapy by local infusion, which seems to be a promising approach and has not been well-studied.

Methods

The PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to obtain literature. The overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS) rates, and adverse events were investigated to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of locoregional therapy. The methodological quality of the articles was assessed using the methodological index for non-randomized studies (MINORS) score. The meta-analysis was performed using Stata 15.0.

Results

The eligible 17 studies involved a total of 318 patients. The random-effects model demonstrated that the ORR of local cell infusion therapy was 48% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 26%–70%). The pooled OS rate was 94% (95% CI: 83%–100%) at 6 months, 87% (95% CI: 74%–96%) at 12 months, and 42% (95% CI: 16%–70%) at 24 months. Subgroup analyses suggested that minimally invasive treatment and absence of metastasis were significantly associated with better ORR. Fourteen studies reported a variety of adverse events related to cell therapy by local perfusion. The most common complications after regional infusion of immune cells were myelosuppression (66%), fever (50%), gastrointestinal toxicity (22%), hepatic dysfunction (15%), and pleural effusion and/or ascites (14%).

Conclusions

Immune cell therapy through local perfusion is effective for patients with liver cancer, with manageable toxicity. It demonstrates better prognosis when combined with minimally invasive therapy. Considering the potential limitations, more randomized controlled trials are needed to provide solid evidence for our findings.

Novel Cellular Therapies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer related death worldwide. Most patients present with advanced disease, and current gold-standard management using tyrosine kinase inhibitors or immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) offers modest clinical benefit. Cellular immune therapies targeting HCC are currently being tested in the laboratory and in clinical trials. Here, we review the landscape of cellular immunotherapy for HCC, defining antigenic targets, outlining the range of cell therapy products being applied in HCC (such as CAR-T and TCR-T), and exploring how advanced engineering solutions may further enhance this therapeutic approach.

Combination of oncolytic adenovirus ZD55 harboring TRAIL-IETD-MnSOD and cytokine-induced killer cells against lung cancer

Background

Our study aimed to investigate the effect of cancer-targeting gene-virotherapy and cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell immunotherapy on lung cancer.

Methods

CIK cells were obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells using interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2, and CD3 monoclonal antibody. The CIK cells were infected with oncolytic adenovirus ZD55 harboring tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), and TRAIL-isoleucine-aspartate-threonine-glutamate (IETD)-MnSOD. The cells were then cocultured with lung cancer cell lines A549 and NCI-H1650, normal cell line BEAS-2B, or injected into an A549 xenograft mouse model.

Results

Proliferation, colony formation, and invasion of A549 and NCI-H1650 cells were significantly inhibited by co-cultivation with CIK cells carrying oncolytic adenoviruses (in order) ZD55-TRAIL-IETD-MnSOD > ZD55-TRAIL + ZD55-MnSOD > ZD55-MnSOD > ZD55-TRAIL. Compared to BEAS-2B cells, the production of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in tumor cells was increased. Tumor volume in the xenograft model and Ki-67 expression in tumor samples were reduced after injection of CIK cells carrying oncolytic adenoviruses, in the same order as the in vivo experiments. Levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and LDH contents were also increased in the same order.

Conclusions

Our studies confirmed the high efficacy of combined oncolytic adenovirus ZD55 harboring TRAIL-IETD-MnSOD and CIK cells against lung cancer.

Identification of inflammation‑associated circulating long non‑coding RNAs and genes in intracranial aneurysm rupture‑induced subarachnoid hemorrhage

Ruptured intracranial aneurysm (IA)-induced subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) triggers a series of immune responses and inflammation in the brain and body. The present study was conducted to identify additional circulating biomarkers that may serve as potential therapeutic targets for SAH-induced inflammation. Differentially expressed (DE) long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs; DElncRNAs) and genes (DEGs) in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells between patients with IA rupture-induced SAH and healthy controls were identified in the GSE36791 dataset. DEGs were used for weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and SAH-associated WGCNA modules were identified. Subsequently, an lncRNA-mRNA regulatory network was constructed using the DEGs in SAH-associated WGCNA modules. A total of 25 DElncRNAs and 1,979 DEGs were screened from patients with IA-induced SAH in the GSE36791 dataset compared with the controls. A total of 11 WGCNA modules, including four upregulated modules significantly associated with IA rupture-induced SAH were obtained. The DEGs in the SAH-associated modules were associated with Gene Ontology biological processes such as ‘regulation of programmed cell death’, ‘apoptosis’ and ‘immune response’. The subsequent lncRNA-mRNA regulatory network included seven upregulated lncRNAs [HCG27, ZNFX1 antisense RNA 1, long intergenic non-protein coding RNA (LINC)00265, murine retrovirus integration site 1 homolog-antisense RNA 1, cytochrome P450 1B1-AS1, LINC01347 and LINC02193] and 375 DEGs. Functional enrichment analysis and screening in the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database demonstrated that SAH-associated DEGs, including neutrophil cytosolic factor (NCF)2 and NCF4, were enriched in ‘chemokine signaling pathway’ (hsa04062), ‘leukocyte transendothelial migration’ (hsa04670) and ‘Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis’ (hsa04666). The upregulated lncRNAs and genes, including NCF2 and NCF4, in patients with IA rupture-induced SAH indicated their respective potentials as anti-inflammatory therapeutic targets.

Research progress and clinical prospect of immunocytotherapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

As a common malignant tumor, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has high fatality rate due to its strong metastasis and high degree of malignancy. Current treatment strategies adopted in clinical practice were still conventional surgery, assisted with interventional therapy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However these treatments have limited effects with high recurrence rate. Current research progress of immunocytotherapy has shown that tumor cells can be directly identified and killed by stimulating the immune function and enhancing the anti-tumor immunity in tumor microenvironment. Targeted immunotherapeutics have therefore become the hope of conquering cancer in the future. It can kill tumor cells without damaging the body's immune system and function, restore and strengthen the body's natural anti-tumor immune system. It can reduce the toxic side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, reduce the recurrence rate and prolong the survival period of patients with HCC. Currently, the immune cells widely studied are mainly as follows: Dendritic cells (DC), Cytokine-induced killer (CIK), DC-CIK, Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T), Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) and Natural killer cell (NK). Immunocytotherapy is a long-term treatment method, some studies have combined traditional therapy with immunocytotherapy and achieved significant effects, providing experimental basis for the application of immunocytotherapy. However, there are still some difficulties in the clinical application of immune cells. In this article, we discuss the application of immunocytotherapy in the clinical treatment of HCC, their effectiveness either alone or in combination with conventional therapies, and how future immunocytotherapeutics can be further improved from investigations in tumour immunology.

2019 Update of Indian National Association for Study of the Liver Consensus on Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India: The Puri II Recommendations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare expenditure in patients with chronic liver disease in India. The Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) had published its first guidelines on diagnosis and management of HCC (The Puri Recommendations) in 2014, and these guidelines were very well received by the healthcare community involved in diagnosis and management of HCC in India and neighboring countries. However, since 2014, many new developments have taken place in the field of HCC diagnosis and management, hence INASL endeavored to update its 2014 consensus guidelines. A new Task Force on HCC was constituted that reviewed the previous guidelines as well as the recent developments in various aspects of HCC that needed to be incorporated in the new guidelines. A 2-day round table discussion was held on 5th and 6th May 2018 at Puri, Odisha, to discuss, debate, and finalize the revised consensus statements. Each statement of the guideline was graded according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation system with minor modifications. We present here the 2019 Update of INASL Consensus on Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India: The Puri-2 Recommendations.

Effectiveness and safety of chemotherapy with cytokine-induced killer cells in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 32 randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND AIMS

Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are the most commonly used cellular immunotherapy for multiple tumors. To further confirm whether chemotherapy with CIK cells improves clinical effectiveness and to reveal its optimal use in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we systematically reevaluated all relevant studies.

METHODS

We collected all studies about chemotherapy with CIK cells for NSCLC from the Medline, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Full-Text Database (VIP), Wanfang Data, China Biological Medicine Database (CBM), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chinese clinical trial registry (Chi-CTR), World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) and U.S. clinical trials. We evaluated their quality according to the Cochrane evaluation handbook of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (version 5.1.0), extracted the data using a standard data extraction form, synthesized the data using meta-analysis and finally rated the evidence quality using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

RESULTS

Thirty-two RCTs with 2250 patients were included, and most trials had unclear risk of bias. The merged risk ratios values and their 95% confidence intervals of meta-analysis for objective response rate, disease control rate, 1- and 2-year overall survival rates, 1- and 2-year progression-free survival rates were as following: 1.45 (1.31-1.61), 1.26 (1.16-.37), 1.42 (1.23-1.63), 2.06 (1.36-3.12), 1.93 (1.38-2.69) and 3.30 (1.13-9.67). Compared with chemotherapy alone, all differences were statistically significant. CIK cells could increase the CD3⁺ T cells, CD3⁺ CD4⁺ T cells, NK cells and the ratio of CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T cells. The chemotherapy with CIK cells had a lower risk of hematotoxicity, gastrointestinal toxicity, liver injury and a higher fever than that of chemotherapy alone. The evidence quality was "moderate" to "very low."

CONCLUSIONS

The available moderate evidences indicate that chemotherapy with CIK cells, especially autologous CIK cells, can significantly improve the tumor responses, 1- and 2-year overall and progression-free survival rates in patients with advanced NSCLC. This treatment does have a high risk of fever. The optimal use may be treatment with one or two cycles and in combination with vinorelbine and cisplatin, paclitaxel and cisplatin, or docetaxel and cisplatin.

Effect of dendritic cell-based immunotherapy on hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AIMS

Dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy has recently been reported frequently in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, its efficacy remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of DC-based immunotherapy on HCC by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS

PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Web of Science were searched to identify clinical trials on DC-based immunotherapy for HCC published up to January 31, 2018. The articles were selected according to pre-established inclusion criteria and methodologic quality, and publication bias were evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 1276 cases from 19 clinical trials were included. Compared with traditional treatment, further DC-based therapy enhanced the CD4⁺ T/CD8⁺ T ratio (standardized mean difference: 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46-0.89, P < 0.001); increased the 1-year, 18-month and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate and the 1-year, 18-month and 2-year overall survival (OS) rate (relative risk > 1, P < 0.05), prolonged the median PFS time (median survival ratio [MSR]: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.60-2.46, P < 0.001) and median OS time (MSR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.51-1.96, P < 0.001). Adverse reactions were mild.

CONCLUSIONS

DC-based therapy not only enhanced anti-tumor immunity, improved the survival rate and prolonged the survival time of HCC patients, but it was also safe. These findings will provide encouraging information for further development of DC-based immunotherapy as an adjuvant treatment for HCC. However, the results must be interpreted with caution because of the small study numbers, publication bias and the various of study designs, pre-treatment and therapeutic processes of DCs.

Harms and benefits of adoptive immunotherapy for postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma: an updated review

The harms and benefits of adoptive immunotherapy (AIT) for patients with postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are controversial among studies. This study aims to update the current evidence on efficacy and safety of AIT for patients with HCC who have received curative therapy. Electronic databases were systematically searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies evaluating adjuvant AIT for patients with HCC after curative therapies. Recurrence and mortality were compared between patients with or without adjuvant AIT. Eight RCTs and two cohort studies involving 2,120 patients met the eligibility criteria and were meta-analyzed. Adjuvant AIT was associated with significantly lower recurrence rate than curative therapies alone at 1 year [risk ratio (RR) 0.64, 95%CI 0.49-0.82], 3 years (RR 0.85, 95%CI 0.79-0.91) and 5 years (RR 0.90, 95%CI 0.85-0.95). Similarly, adjuvant AIT was associated with significantly lower mortality at 1 year (RR 0.64, 95%CI 0.52-0.79), 3 years (RR 0.73, 95%CI 0.65-0.81) and 5 years (RR 0.86, 95%CI 0.79-0.94). Short-term outcomes were confirmed in sensitivity analyses based on RCTs or choice of a fixed- or random-effect meta-analysis model. None of the included patients experienced grade 3 or 4 adverse events. Therefore, this update reinforces the evidence that adjuvant AIT after curative treatment for HCC lowers risk of recurrence and mortality.

Enhanced antitumor effects and improved immune status of dendritic cell and cytokine-induced killer cell infusion in advanced cancer patients

Little progress has been made in the treatment of advanced cancer. Dendritic cells (DCs) plus cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells have exhibited antitumor effects. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of DC-CIK cell treatment in patients with advanced cancer. A paired study including 57 patients treated with DC-CIK cells (DC-CIK group) and 33 patients treated with best supportive care alone (BSC group) was performed. The patients in the DC-CIK group were matched to those in the control group in terms of sex, age, tumor type and clinical stage. T-cell subsets were detected and overall survival (OS) was compared between the two groups. The results demonstrated that CD4⁺/CD25⁺ and CD8⁺/CD28^- subsets significantly decreased following DC-CIK immunotherapy (P<0.05). The CD3⁺, CD3⁺/CD8⁺, CD8⁺/CD28⁺ and CD3⁺/CD56⁺ T-cell subsets were significantly increased in the DC-CIK group compared with the BSC group, while the CD8⁺/CD28^- subset was significantly decreased. Univariate analysis demonstrated that a lower CD8⁺/CD28^- and a higher CD8⁺/CD28⁺ ratio were associated with prolonged OS in advanced cancer patients. In addition, DC-CIK treatment administration, age (>60 vs. <60 years), clinical stage and the frequency of CIK treatment significantly affected the OS of patients in the DC-CIK group. A CD8⁺/CD28^- ratio of <21.12 was found to decrease the hazard ratio (HR) of OS to 0.50 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29-0.87] and a CD8⁺/CD28⁺ ratio >9.04 was found to decrease the HR of OS to 0.45 (95% CI: 0.21-0.98). No serious side effects were observed in the DC-CIK group. Taken together, these data indicate that DC-CIK infusions were able to change the ratios of the T-cell subsets, which increased the T helper cell and cytotoxic T lymphocyte subsets, while it decreased regulatory T lymphocyte subsets. Thus, this method of immunotherapy was found to improve the imbalance in the immune system and prolong the OS in patients with advanced cancer.