Abstract:Objective:To investigate clinical effects of dendritic cells(DC) co-cultured with cytokine-induced killer cells(CIK) combined with chemotherapy on patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods:Twenty-eight patients with advanced gastric cancer who were treated with DC-CIK combined with chemotherapy,were taken as the combined treatment group. Another twenty-eight patients who were treated with chemotherapy alone during the same period were taken as controls. T lymphocyte subtypes,intra-cellular cytokines in peripheral blood of the patients and performance status(Karnofsky,KPS) were compared between the two groups. The clinical effects were analysed. The safety were observed. Results:The ratios of CD3+,CD4+,CD56+ and CD4+/CD8+ did not change obviously in the combined treatment group and decreased in the control group after treatment,which showed significant statistical differences (P < 0.05). The IL-12 and IFN-γ were increased after treatment in the combined treatment group(P < 0.05). The IL-2,IL-12 and TNF-αwere decreased in the control group after treatment(P < 0.05). The disease control rate(DCR) of the combined therapy group and the control group were 78.6% and 53.6% respectively,which showed a significant difference(P < 0.05). The effective rate of KPS were 82.14% and 57.14% respectively(P < 0.05). Conclusion:DC-CIK cells combined with chemotherapy can improve immune functions and elevate life quality of the patients in comparision to those who take chemotherapy alone. DC-CIK cells combined with chemotherapy is likely to be an effective adoptive immunotherapy for gastric cancer.