Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Isolation and Expansion of Cytotoxic Cytokine-induced Killer T Cells for Cancer Treatment
Published on: January 24, 2020
Cancer Immunotherapy with Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells
Juan J Mata-Molanes1, Manuel Sureda González2, Belén Valenzuela Jiménez2
1Plataforma de Oncología, Hospital Quirónsalud Torrevieja, Alicante, Spain. juan.mata@quironsalud.es.
Abstract:
Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells form under certain stimulation conditions in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). They are a heterogeneous immune cell population and contain a high percentage of cells with a mixed T-NK phenotype (CD3+CD56+). The ready availability of a lymphocyte source, together with the high proliferative rate and potent anti-tumor activity of CIK cells, has allowed their use as immunotherapy in a wide variety of neoplasms. Cytotoxicity mediated by CD3+CD56+ T cells depends on the major histocompatibility antigen (MHC)-independent recognition of tumor cells and the activation of signaling pathways through the natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D) cell-surface receptor. Clinical trials have demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of CIK cell immunotherapy even in advanced stage cancer patients or those that have not responded to first-line treatment. This review summarizes biological and technical aspects of CIK cells, as well as past and current clinical trials and future trends in this form of immunotherapy.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Tumor Immunotherapy
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...

