Maintenance Therapy With Autologous Cytokine-induced Killer Cells for Nonsquamous Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Maintenance therapy has been considered as an important component to prolong survival in patients with advanced Nonsquamous Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Previous studies have confirmed that pemetrexed is one of the effective drugs in improving progression-free survival for stage IIIb-IV nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer. With the periodic deliveries of pemetrexed, however,the functioning status and immune system may get worse, which subsequently has an negative impact on patient's quality-of-life. Immunotherapy with autologous cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells can activate the antitumor defense mechanism through stimulating immune response and altering the interaction between tumor and its host. This effect may result in improved tumor control and survival, as well as a better quality of life. To test the hypothesis, a randomised controlled study was conducted to compare CIK cells with pemetrexed as maintenance therapy for stage IIIb-IV nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer.