NK For Cancer

Leukemia Cancer

Natural KILLER CELL THERAPY

Clinical Protocol with Natural Killer Cells for Leukemia

Leukemia is a disease that primarily affects the bone marrow and is reflected in an increase in immature cells circulating in the blood of patients. Depending on the cell population that is affected, different types of leukemia have been described, with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) being the most common.

Leukemia is most common in adults over 55 years of age, but it is also the most common cancer in children under 15 years of age.

Although chemotherapy, targeted therapy and radiotherapy with possible bone marrow transplant (BMT) have been conventional forms of treatment for leukemia, these therapies increase susceptibility to infections, adverse side effects and the inactivation of immune cells. Natural killer cell therapy has been an excellent adjuvant treatment.

Natural Killer (NK) Cells

NK Cells are granular lymphoid cells belonging to the innate immune system and play a fundamental role in the early defense against viral infections and abnormal (tumor) cells; together with the adaptive immune system, they structure an organized response to eliminate malignant cells.
NK cells and their role in leukemia

Several studies have focused on the relationship between NK cell activity and different types of leukemia, demonstrating that the leukemic microenvironment induces a decrease not only in the number of active NK cells, but also in the cytotoxic and degranulation capacities of these innate immune cells compared to healthy individuals.

Other research, in addition to confirming this cellular abnormality, describes greater cellular dysfunction in relation to the severity of the patient, and consequently a less favorable prognosis.

“The lower the cellular functionality, the greater the progression in patients.”

Research to date suggests that, given the progressive decrease in cell functionality in relation to the severity of the patient’s condition, these could be used as a tool to indirectly identify the stage or possible progression of a precancerous lesion to a tumor stage. However, given the multifactorial nature of oncological pathologies, this parameter should be confirmed and completed with other studies.
Currently, there are just over 150 clinical trials in development where NK cells are used with different technological strategies: from autologous NK to genetically modified cells (CAR-NK). Most of these have yielded important results in the control and restriction of oncological processes. However, further research is still required, especially with patients in early stages of the pathology.

The general treatment scheme starts at 2-5 million per kilogram of patient, but it directly depends on the patient’s general condition and the stage of progression in which he or she is.

Thus, the following scheme represents a basic treatment for an initial/intermediate stage.

3 applications (100 million) of Natural Killer cells
Weekly intravenous application of 100 million NK Cells, or treatment every other day for 5 days until the treatment is complete.

Once the patient’s complete medical history and review have been completed, and the therapeutic regimen has been determined, the patient is given the informed consent letter to be signed and an appointment is provided for the start of therapy.

Application process


The application takes place in R3 Stem Cell’s offices in Mexico or Pakistan, where the patient is invited to take a comfortable position and the IV is placed in the arm.

The drip is regulated to deliver the 100 mL saline solution in 30-40 minutes.

Once the dose is finished, the IV equipment is removed.

The patient is left at rest and under medical observation for 20 minutes.

 

Adverse Effects

Regimes of 2-5 million cells per kg have occasionally resulted in these side effects:

  • Low-grade fever
  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness


Follow-up:


It is recommended to perform laboratory and office tests within 10 days of completing the first application regimen, or at least 2 months after the first application.

R3 Stem Cell offers Natural Killer Cell Therapy in Tijuana Mexico with donor cells (allogeneic) and in Islamabad Pakistan with a patient’s own NK Cells (autologous). Call R3 today at +1 (844) 4NK-CELL to set up your free consultation!

 

Bibliography
Allison, M., Mathews, J., Gilliland, T., & Mathew, S. O. (2022). Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Immunotherapy for Leukemia. Cancers, 14(3), 843. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14030843
Xu, J., & Niu, T. (2020). Natural killer cell-based immunotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia. Journal of hematology & oncology, 13(1), 167. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-020-00996-x
Grzywacz, B., Miller, J. S., & Verneris, M. R. (2008). Use of natural killer cells as immunotherapy for leukaemia. Best practice & research. Clinical haematology, 21(3), 467–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beha.2008.07.008
Wu, S. Y., Fu, T., Jiang, Y. Z., & Shao, Z. M. (2020). Natural killer cells in cancer biology and therapy. Molecular cancer, 19(1), 120. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-020-01238-x

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