Treatment of refractory non-small cell lung cancer with combined infusion of modified CIK cells and PD1 antibody: safety and efficacy.

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of modified CIK cells combined with PD-1 antibody in the treatment of refractory non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Fifteen patients with refractory NSCLC who were treated in our hospital were recruited for this clinical study from January 2015 to December 2020. All patients had disease progression after completing routine treatment. Two of 12 patients achieved a partial remission, 6 had stable disease, and 4 had progressive disease. No serious side effects occurred. The percentage of T helper and NKT-like cells in patients increased significantly after immunotherapy (P < 0.05). In addition, the anti-tumor cytokines (IL-2 and INF-γ) increased significantly (P < 0.05). Although the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10, did not change markedly after immunotherapy (P > 0.05), the Karnofsky Performance Scale was improved. Umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells can be induced into NKT-like cells. Induced NKT-like cells had powerful cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines in vitro when combined with PD1 antibody. Immunotherapy also had a significant therapeutic effect on refractory NSCLC with no serious side effects in vivo.