A report of three patients treated with immunocell therapy with imatinib mesylate.

BACKGROUND

Immunocell therapy has been applied to patients with refractory cancer in clinical trials or as an unconventional cancer therapy, however the efficacy is still limited. To improve this efficacy, a combination therapy may be beneficial. Molecularly-targeted therapy acts directly on neoplasm cells to suppress their growth without causing myelosuppression.

CASE REPORT: Recently, we encountered three patients treated by immunocell therapy with imatinib mesylate (Glivec). One patient was diagnosed as having Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) (+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and had a relapse-free survival of more than 24 months. The other two were diagnosed as having GIST; a partial response was observed in one which lasted more than 21 months, while the other's disease has been stabilized for more than 25 months. No side-effects were observed, other than those mentioned in the directions for the use of imatinib.

CONCLUSION

Immunocell therapy may have a potent therapeutic effect when used in combination with molecularly-targeted therapy, which has few side-effects.