Li Zhang

By Li Zhang and Yanyan Pan

Although a great progress has been made in surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the 5-year overall survival rate (OS) remains unsatisfactory (approximately 15%). Recently, cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells treatment as an adoptive immunotherapy has great promises in the scenario of potential new approaches for the treatment of lung tumors. Adaptive and innate cellular immunity are all important for inhibiting tumor growth and the clearance of cancer. The abilities to efficiently kill tumor cells and promote immune responses are the ultimate basic ability requested to CIK cells treatment. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the immunoregulation of CIK cells treatment in NSCLC patients to provide an objective reference for clinical decision-making.

Part of the book: Lung Cancer

By Li Zhang and Chang Liu

Natural killer (NK) cells are innate cytotoxic lymphocytes involved in the surveillance and elimination of cancer. The increasing number of studies have identified novel methods for enhancing the anti-tumor immunity of NK cells and expanding NK cells ex vivo, which paved the way for a new generation of anticancer immunotherapies. In this chapter, we will review the following aspects regarding NK cells, including the inhibitory and activating receptors modulating NK cell activity, NK cell development, the cytotoxic mechanism of NK cells, isolation, expansion and characterization of NK cells, and the source for NK cells. Moreover, we will highlight the cutting-edge immunotherapeutic strategies in preclinical and clinical development such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-NK cells, as well as the adoptive NK transfer to target cancer stem cells (CSCs). Last, we will discuss the challenges NK cells face which should be overcome to achieve cancer clearance.

Part of the book: Natural Killer Cells