ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the first adoptive cellular immunotherapy (ACI) therapy utilizing activated killer monocytes (AKM) to treat patients with cancer, which has been termed the AKM protocol. Monocyte activators other than interferon-γ must be tested in vitro and in preclinical models with the hope of applying these agents to our regional AKM clinical trials. The prolonged disease-free interval seen in three of our patients is an encouraging indication that the AKM therapy may have been useful in eradicating subclinical residual tumor deposits. This possibility is consistent with our current hypotheses for ACI therapy and cancer therapy in general: Attempts at eradication of tumor appear to be most effective with minimal volumes of malignancy. In our regional ACI approach, we have adoptively transferred these tumoricidal cells directly into the patient’s peritoneal cavity for widespread intraperitoneal malignancies; this is known as intraperitoneal AKM therapy.
