Abstract:Objective: To investigate the short- and long-term effects of the combination of autologous dendritic cells-cytokine induced killer cells (DC-CIK) with conventional chemotherapy in treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Methods: Ninety-six patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer were selected and randomly divided into control group and observation group, with 48 cases in each group. Patients in control group underwent the chemotherapy regimen of S-1 (tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil), while those in observation group received autologous DC-CIK transfusions based on S-1 chemotherapy. The short-term (two courses later) efficacy and long-term prognosis of the two groups of patients were compared. Results: In observation group compared with control group, the response rate showed no significant difference (39.58% vs. 27.08%, P>0.05), while the total disease-control rate was significantly increased ( 77.08% vs. 58.33%, P<0.05); there were no significant differences in T-lymphocyte subsets and levels of IFN-γ+, CD4+, between the two groups before treatment (all P>0.05), but the CD3+ and CD4+ cells, CD4+/CD8+ ratio and IFN-γ level were significantly higher, the CD8+ cells and IL-4 level was significantly lower than those in control group after treatment (all P<0.05). No significant differences were noted in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups of patients during treatment (all P>0.05). The average survival time as well as 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates in observation group were all significantly better in observation group than those in control group (15.0 months vs. 10.0 months; 66.67%, 29.17% and 8.33% vs. 43.75%, 10.42% and 0, all P<0.05). Conclusion: Autologous DC-CIK transfusions combined with conventional chemotherapy has improving effects on both short-term effect and long-term prognosis in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.