A pilot safety study of nature killer cells to treat the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation

Abstract

Objective: Nature Killer (NK) Cells have been thought to play a pivotal role in innate immunity. However, the safety and efficacy of NK cells for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after liver transplantation (LT) is unknown. In this study, we investigated whether the injection of activated NK cells (CD3−CD56+ cells) from the sibship with the same blood type is safe for the treatment of HCC recurrence after LT. Methods: Six patients with HCC recurrence after LT were eligible and enrolled in this study. The patients received injections of 5 × 109 NK cells from the sibship with the same blood type 4 times at a frequency of once every two weeks. Lymphocytes were extracted from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells and cultured with IL-2 and other cytokines for 2 weeks. The purity of lymphocytes was assessed by flow cytometric analysis, and only the CD3−CD56+ cells greater than 70% were used. The adverse effects, laboratory tests, overall survival were assessed. Results: No serious adverse effects, laboratory abnormalities were identified as related to the treatment of NK cells. Six patients were alive in the follow-up period of 2 – 8 months. There was no graft-versus-host disease in all 6 patients during follow-up. Conclusion: In conclusion, we have demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge that NK cells from sibship with the same blood type can be used safely as adoptive immunotherapy for the treatment of HCC recurrence after liver transplantation.