302 - Rational Combinations of Active and Passive Immunotherapy Mobilize Immune and clinical responses in terminal cancers

Background

It is now recognized that solid tumours encroach on the host’s immune microenvironment to favour its own proliferation. Strategies to enhance the specificity of the endogenous T cell population against tumours have been met with limited clinical success. We aimed to devise a 2-tier protocol coupling in vivo whole antigen priming with ex vivo cellular expansion to clinically evaluate survival in patients following re-infusion of primed, autologous T cells, to determining treatment efficacy.

Methods

Cancer cell lysate was administered intradermally once a month for 3 months, followed by twice-weekly for 3 weeks infusion of autologous CD8+ lymphocyte expanded ex-vivo. Post treatment tumor-specific T cell response and cytotoxicity was confirmed and evaluated for associations with survival status and duration.

Results

There was significant increase in cytotoxicity exhibited by T cells measured using both Elispot and RTCA following treatment. Correlation analysis determined significant association between higher post treatment cytotoxicity scores and survival status (R = 0.52, p = 0.0028) as well as longer survival duration in months (R = 0.59, p = 0.005).

Conclusions

Our treatment protocol successfully demonstrated significant correlation between tumor associated antigen specific immune response and objective prolongation of survival. Whole cell cancer antigen priming and adoptive T cell therapy is therefore a highly feasible clinical model which can be easily replicated to positively influence outcome in end-stage malignancy.

Editorial acknowledgement

Clinical trial identification

Legal entity responsible for the study

Key Laboratory for Translational Medicine of Cancer Theranostics, Xiamen, China.

Funding

Key Laboratory for Translational Medicine of Cancer Theranostics, Xiamen, China.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.