Synergistic Benefit of Adoptive T Cells in Combination With Chemoradiotherapy Against Metastatic Prostate Cancer Cells

BACKGROUND/AIM: Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the major diseases that affects male health and ranks as the second most frequent cancer in men worldwide. Although most newly-diagnosed PCs are well-differentiated tumors with a high cure probability, there are some patients with aggressive malignancies that show potential for recurrence and metastasis. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes are a specific immune effector cell population that mediates immune responses against cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, the cytotoxicity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)-derived γδ T cells and cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells in combination with chemoradiotherapy against PC cells was evaluated using Alamar blue cell viability and cell membrane permeability assays. RESULTS: Advanced PC-3 cells, which were more resistant to docetaxel (Doc), also showed higher viability following pretreatment with radiation. The cell proliferation inhibition was significantly increased upon additional γδ T or CIK treatment. Furthermore, the proportion of apoptotic cells was significantly (p<0.05) increased in the Doc-γδ T cell co-treatment group as compared with the Doc or γδ T cell treated alone group. CONCLUSION: γδ T cell therapy may provide additional benefit compared to traditional chemoradiotherapy for PC treatment.