Breakthrough in Xenograft Research: Combination Therapy Shows Promising Efficacy Against Gastric Cancer

Scientists at the Cancer Hospital in Beijing, China, have discovered that a combination of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell therapy and chemotherapy, with or without the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) cadonilimab, can effectively inhibit the growth of human gastric cancer in a mouse xenograft tumor model. This research, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, marks a significant advancement in the treatment of gastric cancer and highlights the potential of combining immunotherapy with chemotherapy to enhance antitumor efficacy while maintaining good tolerability.

Key Takeaways:

• The combination of CIK cells and chemotherapy with or without ICIs showed promising efficacy in inhibiting the growth of human gastric cancer in a mouse xenograft tumor model.
• In vitro cytotoxicity assays indicated that CIK cells possessed good biocompatibility and sufficient therapeutic efficacy.
• An in vivo biodistribution assay revealed that CIK cells were mainly distributed in the spleen, lung, and liver, and acute toxicity analysis suggested that CIK cells had low toxicity.
• The tumor growth inhibition rates in the CIK cells + chemotherapy and chemotherapy-alone groups were significantly higher than the control group, with well-tolerable toxicity.
• The combination therapy did not show a significant difference in tumor lysis ability between the chemotherapy-based combination treatment groups and the chemotherapy-alone group.
• The research suggests that the combination of CIK cells and chemotherapy with or without ICIs can serve as a potential therapeutic option for treating gastric cancer.

Statistics:

• The tumor volume in the CIK cells + chemotherapy group showed a 34.2% inhibition rate, while the chemotherapy-alone group showed a 50.8% inhibition rate.
• The combination therapy showed well-tolerable toxicity.
• The study involved a total of 40 mice, randomly assigned to eight experimental groups (vehicle, CIK cells, cadonilimab, chemotherapy, cadonilimab + chemotherapy, CIK cells + cadonilimab, CIK cells + chemotherapy, and CIK cells + cadonilimab + chemotherapy).

Sources:

• NewsRx. Research from Cancer Hospital Broadens Understanding of Xenografts (Inhibition of human gastric cancer growth by cytokine-induced killer cells plus chemotherapy with or without cadonilimab in a mouse xenograft tumor model). Cancer Weekly. June 24, 2025; p 318.
• Inhibition of human gastric cancer growth by cytokine-induced killer cells plus chemotherapy with or without cadonilimab in a mouse xenograft tumor model. Frontiers in Immunology, 2025,16. (Frontiers in Immunology - http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/immunology).