vNKT cells assist in enhancing the patient's immune system after esophageal cancer surgery, achieving long-term tumor control!

时间：2026-04-15　人气：

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# Esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors globally. According to the global cancer statistics in 2020, there were 604,000 new cases and 544,000 deaths. China is a high-incidence area for esophageal cancer, but with the development of early diagnosis and treatment technologies, the mortality rate of esophageal cancer in China has shown a downward trend. The 5-year survival rate for early esophageal cancer can reach over 90%. However, as most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, the treatment outcome remains poor, with an overall 5-year survival rate of only around 20%. Therefore, esophageal cancer remains a major threat to the health of Chinese residents.

The treatment methods for esophageal cancer include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Staging is the most critical factor affecting treatment efficacy and prognosis. Carcinoma in situ and stage I cancer can achieve a 5-year survival rate of up to 90% through endoscopic or surgical treatment. For patients with stage II and III cancer, despite the use of comprehensive treatment methods such as surgery combined with chemoradiotherapy and immunotherapy, the 5-year survival rates are still unsatisfactory, at 50% and 35.8%, respectively. The 5-year survival rate for patients with stage IV cancer is even lower, at 16.9%. Postoperative recurrence, metastasis, and drug resistance during treatment remain major factors limiting the treatment efficacy of esophageal cancer.

Is there an anti-tumor treatment method that can compensate for the inherent defects of traditional tumor treatment and bring better treatment effects and prognosis to patients? Let's take a look at the treatment process of Mr. Zhao, an esophageal cancer patient, and gain some insights from it.

01

Disease Overview
Overview of the illness

In October 2021, Mr. Zhao presented to the hospital primarily due to "choking while eating and discomfort in the right chest". On October 22, a chest and upper abdominal CT scan revealed localized wall thickening of the esophagus, consistent with CT findings of a tumor. Multiple small lymph nodes were also observed in the mediastinum.

On November 1st, gastroscopy revealed esophageal lesions pending pathology (CA to be excluded). Endoscopic ultrasonography showed early Ca (T1) in the mid-esophagus. On November 2nd, esophageal mucosal ESD was performed. Postoperative pathology indicated: (esophageal ESD specimen) high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia with focal malignant transformation into moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, accompanied by involvement of esophageal glandular ducts. Gross classification was Type 0-IIb. The (microscopically) lesion range was 3.3x3cm, of which the squamous cell carcinoma lesion range was 3.3x1.3cm. (Smooth muscle of the mucosa was present.) Histological typing of the deepest infiltrating cancer tissue was moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Infiltration pattern: INFb. No definite intravascular tumor thrombus was detected (ly0v0). No lesions were detected along the horizontal tangent line of the specimen (pHMO), but adjacent to the vertical tangent line (pVM1). Immunohistochemistry: CD34 (vascular +), D2-40 (lymphatic +).

On November 26th, the PET-CT scan revealed the following: 1. Postoperative changes in the esophagus due to cancer surgery; 2. Multiple small lymph nodes in the mediastinum without abnormal high metabolism, observation recommended; 3. Micro-nodules in both lungs without abnormal high metabolism, observation recommended; left lung with fibrous streaks.

On December 23, a robot-assisted partial resection of the esophagus and stomach, cervical esophagogastric anastomosis, lymph node dissection, and bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve dissection were performed. Postoperative pathology: "post-ESD surgery for esophageal malignancy in another hospital" revealed focal loss of esophageal mucosa, accompanied by hemorrhage, fibrosis, and minimal lymphocyte infiltration and multinucleated giant cell reaction in the submucosa, consistent with post-ESD reaction. No tumor was found at the superior, inferior, or circumferential resection margins. Glycogenosis acanthosis was observed in the surrounding esophageal mucosa. No significant lesions were found in the surrounding gastric mucosa. Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma was found in the lymph nodes (4/37), without involvement of the lymph node capsule. pTNM: pT1N2 (T staging combined with post-ESD pathology) stage IIB.

Based on Mr. Zhao's postoperative pathology and staging results, there is a high risk of recurrence after surgery. According to traditional treatment protocols, he should routinely receive postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. However, after undergoing two traumatic surgeries, Mr. Zhao is physically weakened. After detailed understanding of chemotherapy, he found that although it can kill tumor cells, it can also cause many serious complications and damage his immune system, making it impossible to achieve the desired long-term effect. Mr. Zhao and his family began seeking alternative treatments to chemotherapy to prevent recurrence and metastasis.

After extensive searching, Mr. Zhao discovered that cellular immunotherapy is an ideal treatment method, which is both safe and reliable. It can achieve long-term tumor control by enhancing and improving the patient's own immune system. After comparing various types of cellular immunotherapy, Mr. Zhao found that Professor Zhang Minghui's vNKT cell therapy has a stronger anti-tumor effect and has been validated by numerous treatment cases, which is highly suitable for Mr. Zhao's needs. Therefore, he got in touch with us.

Lehe New Medical [Second Diagnosis and Treatment Suggestion]

After reviewing Mr. Zhao's medical records, Professor Zhang Minghui provided the following analysis and suggestions:

1. Mr. Zhao's pathological stage is ⅡB, with lymph node metastasis present. In this case, the recurrence probability of simple surgical resection is extremely high. Therefore, adjuvant therapy should be actively pursued after surgery to further eliminate residual tumor cells and achieve the goal of controlling tumor recurrence.

2. Multiple studies suggest that postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy can improve the prognosis of patients with positive lymph nodes after undergoing surgery alone, and the efficacy of radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is superior to that of radiotherapy alone. Currently, adjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer surgery primarily involves chemotherapy. However, for patients with esophageal cancer, chemotherapy has a low response rate and poor therapeutic effect, with an objective response rate of only 6%-8%. It can only exert a killing and inhibitory effect on tumor cells in the short term and is associated with drug resistance; in addition, chemotherapy has significant side effects, severely damaging the immune system and hematopoietic system, and cannot achieve long-term efficacy. Therefore, it is not an ideal adjuvant therapy after surgery.

3. vNKT cell immunotherapy is a novel anti-tumor treatment method that utilizes the potent killing effect of immune cells on tumors. It can eliminate residual or newly emerging tumor cells, reconstruct the immune microenvironment, and restore the body's immune system's ability to clear tumors, without the toxic side effects and drug resistance issues associated with traditional chemotherapy. Extensive clinical practice has confirmed that combining vNKT cell therapy with surgical treatment can effectively reduce the risk of recurrent and newly emerging tumors, making it an ideal choice for postoperative adjuvant therapy and highly suitable as a subsequent treatment option for Mr. Zhao.

Professor Zhang provided Mr. Zhao and his family with a detailed introduction to the vNKT treatment technology and the treatment outcomes of previous cases, and answered Mr. Zhao's questions in detail. After thorough communication, Mr. Zhao and his family unanimously recognized Lehe team's "strategic" thinking and "tactical" planning regarding tumor treatment, and began vNKT cell therapy on March 7, 2022. The first-stage treatment plan: 1 course/month, adjusted to 1 course/2 months in July 2023. So far, 16 courses have been completed (as of October 2024). Currently, the patient's condition is stable with no signs of recurrence or metastasis. The patient is in good spirits, with good appetite and sleep, and a good quality of life.

# vNKT cell immunotherapy

NKT cells (Natural killer T cells), are a special T cell subset with both T cell receptor (TCR) and NK cell receptor on their surface. They possess important characteristics of both NK cells and T cells, with the dual ability to recognize tumor cells nonspecifically and specifically, and can rapidly kill tumor cells. Among the NKT cell subsets, there is a larger and more potent special type of NKT cell discovered by the experimental team led by Professor Zhang Minghui from Tsinghua University, namely vNKT (Variant Natural Killer T) cells.

The population of vNKT cells in the body is very small and they are not easily activated. However, once activated, they can single-handedly eliminate tumor cells that may remain undetected in the body. Additionally, research has found that vNKT cells exhibit dual anti-tumor effects. Not only can they directly kill cancer cells, but they can also regulate the immune microenvironment within tumor tissues, kill inhibitory immune cells known as MDSCs, break tumor immune evasion, rebuild the normal immune system, and further prevent recurrence and metastasis.
Experimental conditions: In the presence of vNKT cells, after 16 hours, nearly all B16 tumor cells were killed!

02

Imaging changes

Imaging Findings: In January 2022, a soft tissue shadow was observed in the main pulmonary artery window, which was considered to be a lymph node. By June 2022, the size of the shadow showed no significant change upon follow-up examination. In March 2023, no obvious abnormality was observed during the follow-up examination. In October 2023, the size of the soft tissue shadow was approximately 10mm. In June 2024, the soft tissue shadow showed no significant change compared to previous findings, suggesting postoperative changes.

03

Conclusion and Commentary
Conclusion and Commentary
Postoperative recurrence is the most concerning issue for all patients with malignant tumors who have undergone surgical treatment, and it is also the biggest obstacle to achieving tumor cure. All tumors have varying degrees of recurrence risk after surgical treatment, especially those that are discovered at a later stage, are larger, and are of higher malignancy. Mr. Zhao's postoperative pathology indicated lymph node metastasis, and the risk of postoperative recurrence was high. According to the traditional treatment plan, he should receive chemotherapy and radiotherapy after surgery. However, after learning about the limitations and damaging effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on the body, Mr. Zhao rejected this treatment approach.

After scientific analysis and comparison, vNKT cell therapy was ultimately chosen. The treatment has been smoothly carried out for 3 years, achieving ideal therapeutic effects. In this process, vNKT cell immunotherapy played an indispensable role in reducing the risk of recurrence and metastasis, providing patients with the possibility of achieving long-term tumor stability or even cure.

Zhang Minghui Founder of Lehe New Medicine and PhD in Immunology from Tsinghua University School of Medicine
Since the discovery of vNKT cells in 2002, Professor Zhang Minghui's research team has been engaged in research for over 20 years, accumulating treatment experience from over 700 cases of solid tumors, covering almost all common solid tumors. The research results fully demonstrate the great value of vNKT in the treatment of solid tumors.

Applicable to postoperative patients with high malignant potential or at risk of recurrence; Patients whose tumors have been largely controlled but not cured through conventional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy; Patients with persistent high carcinogenic factors. If these patients do not undergo effective follow-up treatment after traditional anti-tumor therapy, recurrence, metastasis, or re-emergence of tumors will be highly probable. In this case, vNKT cell therapy is an ideal follow-up treatment option, which can significantly improve the patient's prognosis.

Written by Cao Tingting
Reviewed by: Qiao Jiacheng, Wang Ying, Gao Chen
Edited/typeset by Zhang Jiao

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