Pseudoprogression: an indicator for cure in combined immunotherapy?

Area of Science:

• Immunotherapy
• Oncology
• Cancer Research

Background:

• Pseudoprogression is an uncommon phenomenon in cancer treatment, typically indicating a favorable prognosis.
• Complete remission following pseudoprogression has not been previously reported.
• Metastatic renal clear cell cancer is often resistant to conventional therapies like multitargeted kinase inhibitors.

Observation:

• Two patients with metastatic renal clear cell cancer experienced pseudoprogression after treatment failure with multitargeted kinase inhibitors.
• The treatment regimen involved a combination of anti-PD-1 antibodies and autologous RetroNectin-activated cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells.
• Following the initial pseudoprogression, both patients achieved complete remission.

Findings:

• Successful treatment of metastatic renal clear cell cancer was achieved using a novel immunotherapy approach.
• Complete remission was observed in patients who exhibited pseudoprogression, a previously undocumented outcome.
• One patient remains disease-free 1.5 years after therapy cessation.

Implications:

• This study demonstrates a potential new therapeutic strategy for advanced renal clear cell cancer.
• The findings suggest that pseudoprogression may be a positive indicator of treatment response in specific contexts.
• Further research into combination immunotherapies involving anti-PD-1 antibodies and CIK cells is warranted for refractory cancers.