Clinical Efficacy of Tumor Antigen-Pulsed DC Treatment for High-Grade Glioma Patients: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis

BackgroundThe effectiveness of immunotherapy for high-grade glioma (HGG) patients remains controversial. To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of dendritic cells (DCs) alone in the treatment of HGG, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis in terms of patient survival with relevant published clinical studies.Materials and methodsA total of 409 patients, including historical cohorts, nonrandomized and randomized controls with HGG, were selected for the meta-analysis.ResultsThe treatment of HGG with DCs was associated with a significantly improved one-year survival (OS) (pppp = 0.23).The percentages of CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD4+ T cells and CD16+ lymphocyte subset were not significantly increased in the DC group compared with the baseline levels observed before treatment (p>0.05), whereas CD56+ lymphocyte subset were significantly increased after DC treatment (p = 0.0001). Furthermore, the levels of IFN-γ in the peripheral blood of HGG patients, which reflect the immune function of the patients, were significantly increased after DC immunotherapy (pConclusionsThus, our meta-analysis showed that DC immunotherapy markedly prolongs survival rates and progression-free time, enhances immune function, and improves the efficacy of the treatment of HGG patients.