RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION IN PATIENTS WITH LIVER CANCERS CAUSES A DRAMATICALLY INCREASED CYTOLYTIC ACTIVITY OF T-LYMPHOCYTES

Purpose: Radio-frequency thermal ablation (RFA) is a common therapy to treat inoperable liver tumors. There is increasing evidence of immunological effects caused by RFA. Thus we observed activation of tumor specific T lymphocytes in the VX2 rabbit liver tumor model (Wissniowski et al, cancer Res 2003) and in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver metastases of colon cancer. T lymphocyte activation was associated with a significantly prolonged survival in the animal study. We therefore aimed to investigate how far the cytolytic activity of T-cells is boostered in RFA treated patients with liver c…