Effective cancer treatment with "autologous immune-boosting therapy" at Vinmec

Posted by MSc. Nguyen Van Phong and MSc. Le Thi Huyen - Cell Therapy Division, Vinmec High-Tech Center.

Cancer is one of the dangerous diseases if not detected early and treated promptly. Currently, the standard methods of cancer treatment include: Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Each method shows progress after treatment, but they come with many unwanted side effects and seriously impair the patient's health. Therefore, the development of new treatments with fewer side effects is needed to improve the quality of life for patients.

One of the cancer treatments that has been noticed for its effectiveness and safety in recent years is immunotherapy. In nature, the immune system takes on the role of a shield, detecting and fighting pathogens that attack the body. The abnormal growth of certain cells causes the immune system to weaken and lead to cancer.
The goal of this therapy is not only to directly kill cancer cells, but also to enhance the activity of immune cells in the patient's body to fight cancer. Immune cells in the body are stimulated and activated, increasing their ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Therefore, the activation of immune cells is an extremely important factor in the treatment of this terrible disease.

Based on the above principle, immune cells are isolated from the peripheral blood of cancer patients, selectively cultured and proliferated under special conditions, to finally put back into the patient's body. by intravenous route.
Cells after being infused into the body not only become an effective "weapon" to destroy cancer cells, but also create a strong immune barrier against other pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. bacteria or virus.
With the unique feature from using the patient's own cells (autologous cells), immune-boosting therapy shows its superiority when it comes to limiting negative side effects to the body.
Applying modern advanced technology transfer from Japan, Vinmec International General Hospital is honored to be the first and only hospital in Vietnam licensed by the Ministry of Health for "Immune-boosting therapy" self", and has achieved initial achievements.

Immune cell culture process at Vinmec International General Hospital strictly complies with the standards of the World Health Organization and the Technology Transfer Agency, the Institute of Biological Therapy of Japan (BIJ) to ensure products to be transmitted to the patient at the highest level of safety.
Over a period of nearly 2 years, from March 2016 to December 2017, Vinmec Times City International Hospital performed a phase I clinical trial evaluation on 10 patients with lung cancer , liver and colon (three common cancers in Vietnam). Using 1 to 4 infusions (only 1 case underwent 9 infusions), the patients recorded significant improvements after treatment. These results have been published in the International journal of molecular sciences.
Patient's condition according to the World Health Organization (ECOG) scale (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group/scale from 0 to 4 with 4 being the most severe) decreased from greater than 3 to less than 2. This means that after 12 months of treatment, patients were able to perform more physical activities (such as walking, working, ...) and the average time in bed of patients was less than 50%. total time of day.

Reduce chronic fatigue by 55% after 12 months according to the Visual Analog Fatigue Scale (VAFS). In addition, a significant increase in indicators of general health, cognition, functional activity or social interaction also showed a marked improvement in the patient's quality of life. Prior to the initiation of therapy, the median expected survival of patients was 7 to 8 months. However, after treatment with autologous immune cell infusion, the survival time of the patients lasted up to 18 months and remained healthy after the study period.

Currently, autologous immune boosting therapy has been intensively applied and commercialized in some developed countries around the world, especially in Japan. In Vietnam, this therapy is not yet popular and has limited information to patients.
Vinmec International General Hospital is proud to be a pioneer nationwide in bringing this therapy into clinical application. From the initial success we have, we believe in leading a new, effective and safe trend in the fight against cancer.

References:
Liem, N. T., Van Phong, N., Kien, N. T., Anh, B. V., Huyen, T. L., Thao, C. T., ... & Nhung, H. T. M. (2019). Phase I Clinical Trial Using Autologous Ex Vivo Expanded NK Cells and Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes for Cancer Treatment in Vietnam. International journal of molecular sciences, 20(13), 3166.