Abstract: Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of cytokine-induced killer cells（CIK） combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization（TACE） for patients with primary liver cancer. Methods A total of 67 patients with primary liver cancer were enrolled in Daping hospital from February 2012 to February 2014. According to therapy choice,the patients were divided into combination treatment group（n=32,treated with CIK plus TACE） and control group（n=35,treated with TACE alone）. The peripheral T-lymphocyte subsets alterations, quality of life（QOL）,clinical efficacy and the progression-free-survival（PFS） after treatment were compared between the two groups. Results The proportions of CD3⁺T lymphocytes,CD4⁺T lymphocytes and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio in peripheral blood were significantly increased 7 days after CIK treatment in combination therapy group [（70.32±2.36）% vs.（63.56±2.42）%,（32.18±2.27）% vs.（30.34±2.05）%,and（1.15±0.05） vs.（0.90±0.05）, respectively,P<0.05 for all];The proportion of CD8⁺T lymphocytes was significantly decreased in combination treatment group[（29.35±2.95）% vs.（33.28±3.14）%,P<0.05];Partial remission rate was higher in combination treatment group as compared with that in control group,but with no statistical difference（53.1% vs. 42.9%,P>0.05）;The median PFS was significantly different between the two groups（16 months vs. 9.5 months,P<0.05）;Adverse effects in combination treatment group were mild,and the symptoms disappeared after managements. Conclusions CIK combined with TACE therapy can significantly increase the cell immune function in patients with primary liver cancer than TACE therapy alone. it can improve the QOL and slow the progress of liver cancer in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Key words: Primary liver cancer, Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, Cytokine-induced killer cells, Therapy