Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 26, 2026
An Orthotopic Resectional Mouse Model of Pancreatic Cancer
Published on: September 24, 2020
Postoperative Adjuvant Therapy for Resectable Pancreatic Cancer With Gemcitabine and Adoptive Immunotherapy
Hiroto Matsui1, Shoichi Hazama, Kazuhiko Sakamoto
1From the *Department of Gastroenterological, Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine; †Department of Translational Research and Developmental Therapeutics Against Cancer, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi; ‡Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center Japan, Tokyo; and §Oncology Center, Yamaguchi University Hospital, Ube, Japan.
Objectives:
We previously described adoptive immunotherapy (AIT) with cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) stimulated by the mucin 1 (MUC1)-expressing human pancreatic cancer cell line YPK-1 (MUC1-CTLs) and demonstrated that MUC1-CTLs might prevent liver metastasis. In the present study, we combined gemcitabine (GEM) and AIT for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Methods:
A total of 43 patients who underwent radical pancreatectomy received treatment with MUC1-CTLs and GEM. After surgery, MUC1-CTLs were induced and administered intravenously 3 times, and GEM administered according to the standard regimen for 6 months. The patients whose relative dose intensity of GEM was 50% or more and who received 2 or more MUC1-CTL treatments were used as the adequate treatment group (n = 21).
Results:
In the adequate treatment group, disease-free survival was 15.8 months, and overall survival was 24.7 months. Liver metastasis was found only in 7 patients (33%), and local recurrence occurred in 4 patients (19%). The independent prognostic factor of long-term disease-free survival on multivariate analysis was the average number of CTLs administered (P = 0.0133).
Conclusions:
The combination therapy with AIT and GEM prevented liver metastasis and local recurrence. Moreover, the disease free-survival was improved in patients who received sufficient CTLs.
