Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of cytokine induced killer cells( CIK) combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization（TACE） for patients with primary liver cancer（PLC）. Methods A total of 44 patients with PLC were enrolled in 105th hospital between January 2010 and December 2014. 22 patients received combination CIK infusion and TACE，and 22 were treated with TACE alone. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained by Ficoll separation, and the CIKs were induced by with interferon-γ, anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies and interleukin-2 incubation. The cells were determined by FACs detection. About 1.0×109 of CIKs were transfused after routine TACE，and abdominal CT scan was done for assessment of occurrence of portal vein tumor thrombus(PVTT). Results The incidence of PVTT in CIK and TACE combination group 1 m, 3 m and 6 m after the discontinuation of the therapy were 4.5%,13.6% and 27.2%，while those in TACE group were 9.0%, 45.5% and 63.6%, respectively（P<0.05）；the size of tumor mass in combination group at 3 m was （4.77±1.27）cm，much smaller than[（5.54±1.14）cm,P＜0.05] in TACE-treated patients；serum alpha-fetoprotein in combination group at 3 m was（83.14±31.91） ng/ml，much lower than[(139.24±98.76) ng/ml，P＜0.05] in TACE group；the remote metastasis, such as lungs, brain, bone, etc, in both groups were not significantly different（P>0.05）. Conclusion Combination of CIK and TACE treatment can prevent patients with PLC developing PVTT occurrence, and maybe improve the life of quality of patients with PLC.

Key words: Primary liver cancer, Cytokine-induced killer cells, Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, Adoptive immunotherapy, Portal vein tumor thrombus