Abstract
e13071^ Background: Pancreatic cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide with a very poor survival rate. No adequate therapy allows the patient to have a longer life of even 1 year. Methods: Dendritic cell(DC) based immunotherapy along with gemcitabine chemotherapy is planned to do phase I/II trial in 26 patients of advanced stage adenocarcinoma of pancreas. Inclusion criteria was defined as unresectable disease, ECOG performance status of not more than 2, Blood chemistry and hematocrit within normal range and of all age groups. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells are cultured in GM-CSF/IL-4 in RPMI. At 6th day of culture, the immature dendritic cells are exposed to antigens previously isolated from fresh excised tissue and further matured for 2 days. The cells along with medium are harvested and 1 million mature DC are infused IV by mixing them in 100 ml of dextrose normal saline with ondasnetron 4mg injection. Gemcitabine was given on day 1 and on day 8th and DC on day 15th. The cycle is repeated every month for 3 months followed by DC therapy alone at every 23 days interval till patient survives. The primary end point was overall survival and the secondary end point was improvement in quality quotient. Results: 6 patients survived for 24 months, 10 for 12 months and 3 for 6 months, with radiological improvement in only 4 patients with 25% reduction of disease. The quality quotient of 14 patients improved by second dose of dc therapy with improved appetite and decreased pain in abdomen including cheerfulness in 13 patients. Conclusions: Gemcitabine and DC immunotherapy is a good option for advanced stage pancreas cancer patients.
Published Version
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