Lung cancer remains the most common cancer-related cause of death among men and women, and accounts for about 13% of all diagnosed new cancers. Surgery is the primary treatment modality for patients with early-stage cancer who are in good general health. The goal of surgery is to remove completely lung tumor and draining lymph nodes, which is often technically difficult (due to tumor size or location) or contraindicated in some patients not fit for surgery. Radiochemotherapy of the advanced disease is of a palliative nature and has no significant influence on survival of patients. We believe that future advances in system treatment for lung cancer will be defined by developing immunotherapeutic technologies.
Our clinical experience suggests that cell vaccination of patients with stage IV disease can achieve various degrees of clinical responses (complete or partial response, disease stabilization) of more than 6 months’ duration in a significant proportion of vaccinees. Although the results obtained are encouraging, they must be interpreted with caution due to a small number of patients with very advanced disease used in our study.
Examples.
Case 1. A 50 year-old patient was diagnosed with сentral squamous carcinoma of the left low- lobar bronchus, metastatic lesions in the upper lobe of the right lung and in regional lymph nodes (T2 N3M1), atelectasis of 6 segment on the right. The patient presented with dyspnea at rest, cough with blood streaked sputum, general weakness and low back pain. ERS was 60 mm/h. Vaccination caused a short-term increase in body temperature to 38.50 C. The patient’s condition remained stable over 7 month time, after which hemoptysis and weakness came gradually forward. Due to the pronounced weakness, the patient was bedridden. Symptomatic therapy was escalated, and in a month time life-threatening symptoms disappeared and his condition stabilized. One year after the onset of vaccine therapy ultrasonography showed a focal lesion (56 x 54 mm) in the right kidney (the blood parameters were normal), and the patient developed intermittent macrohematuria. Three years later, X-ray examination showed rugged pneumofibrosis, and CT detected signs of focal lesion (49.5 х 56.4 mm.) in the right kidney and a focus (27.9 х 61.2 х 70 mm) of bone destruction was noted in the huckle-bone. The right kidney was surgically removed, anda metastatic lesion was confirmed histologically. Final follow-up 4.5 years after vaccine therapy onset found the patient in good condition without any signs of disease progression.
Case 2. A 75 year-old patient was diagnosed with сentral squamous carcinoma of the right lung with X-ray signs of metastatic lesions in S3 segment on the left and in II intercostal space on the right. The patient presented with dyspnea at rest, cough with moderate quantity of phlegm and marked general weakness. The vaccine therapy was well tolerated. Final follow-up 3 years after vaccinetherapy onset showed a significant amelioration of disease symptoms and no signs of disease progression.
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