——文章来自美国Fred Huchinson癌症研究中心
这是迄今为止第一例被证明安全有效的单独运用克隆细胞杀灭肿瘤的病例。
据美国研究者介绍，其首次成功运用患者克隆抗感染T细胞作为单一疗法，长期缓解晚期实体瘤病程。
这个位于美国Fred Hutchinson癌症研究中心的临床研究团队从一位4期伴腹股沟淋巴结和肺转移黑色素瘤患者体内分离出CD4+的T细胞(白细胞的一种)，该T细胞能特异性识别黑色素瘤，再在实验室对该T细胞进行处理以及大量扩增，然后不经其它的疗法(如在前期或后期输注生长因子或细胞因子等)，直接输注患者体内。2 个月后，PET和CT示肿瘤消失。最近复查，患者无病生存2年。
该患者是9位恶性黑色素瘤患者中的一位，他们近期都完成了自体CD4+T细胞剂量扩增临床试验.在该团队早期运用CD8+T细胞的试验中，因为没有用CD4+细胞或是诸如白细胞介素等生长因子支持，改善并没有在体内持续发生。
研究者假设特定的肿瘤细胞抗原能扩大患者的免疫反应，随后试验也证实T细胞能对其它肿瘤抗原MAGE-3和MART-1产生反应。根据更多的例子，研究者乐观预测，只要拥有相同的免疫系统类型和肿瘤抗原，该疗法能对所有晚期黑色素瘤患者中的25%人起作用。
(合一康生物学术推广部编译，原文如下)
Case Study: Patient’s own infection fighting T cells put late stage melanoma into long-term remission without chemotherapy or radiation
- -Abstracted from Fred Huchinson Cancer Research Center
This is the first case so far to show safety and effectiveness of using cloned cells alone to kill tumors.
American researchers describe the first successful use of a human patient’s cloned infection-fighting T cells as the sole therapy to put an advanced solid-tumor cancer into long-term remission.
A Clinical Research team at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center removed CD4+ T cells, a type of white blood cell, from a 52-year-old man whose Stage 4 melanoma had spread to a groin lymph node and to a lung. T cells specific to targeting the melanoma were then expanded vastly in the laboratory using modifications to existing methods. The lab-grown cells were then infused into the patient with no additional pre- or post-conditioning therapies, such as growth-factor or cytokine treatment. Two months later, PET and CT scans revealed no tumors. The patient remained disease free two years later, when he was last checked.
The patient was one of nine patients with metastatic melanoma who were being treated in a recently completed clinical trial to test dose- escalation of autologous CD4+ T cells. Earlier studies performed by the same researcher used CD8+ T cells, which do not persist in the body without the support of CD4+ T cells or growth factors such as interleukin.
The scientists postulated that the patient’s immune response was broadened to other antigens expressed by the tumor cells. Follow-up tests showed T-cell responses to two additional tumor antigens, MAGE-3 and MART-1.
With more cases, scientists optimistically predicted this therapy could be used for the 25 percent of all late-stage melanoma patients who have the same immune-system type and tumor antigen.
