Abstract:
Objective To evaluate the clinical effects of maintenance therapy combining of autologous dentritic cells ( DC ) and cytokine induced killer cells ( CIK cells ) and erlotinib on elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ). Methods Fourty-two elderly patients (65-85 years old) with Stage-Ⅲb and Ⅳ NSCLC underwent 4 cycles of platinum-based two-drug chemotherapy and achieved stable status or much better condition. The patients were randomized into 2 groups, i.e., combination therapy group, which received a biological immunotherapy combining erlotinib and autologous DC/CIK cells, and erlotinib therapy group, which was given erlotinib therapy alone. Effi cacy, progression-free survival(PFS) and quality of life were evaluated every month. Results The disease control rates of two groups were 85.7% and 71.4%(χ2=8.75,P=0.015), respectively. The PFS of both groups were 5.23 and 3.57 months respectively(P=0.017). The quality of life were both improved(P=0.001,P=0.008),especially to the combination group(P=0.033). The untoward reactions of both groups were tolerable rashes and diarrhea. Conclusion The maintenance treatment combining erlotinib and autologous DC/CIK cells can improve quality of life, enhance effi cacy and prolong survival time of elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.