Evidence for a graft-versus-tumor effect in a patient treated with marrow ablative chemotherapy and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for breast cancer

• Published in: Blood 1996-08, Vol.88 (4), p.1501-1508
• Main Authors: EIBL, B, SCHWAIGHOFER, H, NEIDERWIESER, D, NACHBAUR, D, MARTH, C, GÄCHTER, A, KNAPP, R, BÖCK, G, GASSNER, C, SCHILLER, L, PETERSEN, F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Antigens, Neoplasm - immunology; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Bone marrow, stem cells transplantation. Graft versus host reaction; Breast Neoplasms - therapy; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - therapy; Combined Modality Therapy; Cytokines - physiology; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; Female; Graft vs Host Disease - immunology; HLA Antigens - immunology; Humans; Immunity, Cellular; Liver Neoplasms - secondary; Liver Neoplasms - therapy; Mastectomy; Medical sciences; Nuclear Family; Pregnancy; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - immunology; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Transfusions. Complications. Transfusion reactions. Cell and gene therapy
• ISSN: 0006-4971; 1528-0020
• DOI: 10.1182/blood.v88.4.1501.bloodjournal8841501

Graft-versus-leukemia (GvL) has been shown to be an important immune-mediated antitumor effect in hematologic malignancies. It is still unknown whether such an immunemediated antitumor effect has clinical implications in patients with solid tumors. A 32-year-old woman with inflammatory breast cancer received a bone marrow transplant (BMT) from her HLA-identical sibling. During graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) cytotoxic T lymphocytes were grown and tested in a chromium-release assay against B and T lymphocytes of the patient and donor and against a panel of breast cancer cell lines. Resolution of liver metastases was observed simultaneously with clinical GvHD in the first weeks after transplant. In addition, minor histocompatibility antigen (MiHA)-specific and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigen-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognizing breast carcinoma target cells were isolated from the blood of the patient. Pretreatment of such target cells with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha but not with interferon (IFN)-alpha or IFN-gamma increased susceptibility of these cells to lysis by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Clinical course and in vitro results suggest that a graft-versus-tumor (GvT) effect might exist after allogeneic BMT for breast cancer. However, clinical experience on a larger scale would be required to determine the clinical efficacy of GvT effects in patients with solid tumors.