Epirubicin pretreatment enhances NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells in vitro.

Anthracycline-based chemotherapy is a conventional treatment for breast cancer. However, it can negatively affect host immune function and thereby impair patients’ quality of life. Boosting the host immune system and reducing the adverse effect of chemotherapy are important for effective cancer treatment. Natural killer (NK) cells stimulate immune responses against cancer; autologous immune enhancement therapy with NK cells prolongs patient survival without significant adverse effects. This study investigated the effects of combined treatment with the anthracycline agent epirubicin (EPI) and NK cells on human breast cancer cells. NK cells were obtained by autologous adoptive cell transfer from breast cancer patients and amplified for 14 days in vitro. The cytotoxicity of NK cells against breast cancer cells was higher following EPI (5.0 μg/ml) pretreatment than without EPI pretreatment or application of EPI alone. The expression of NKG2D ligands [unique long 16-binding protein (ULBP) 1, ULBP2, and major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A] in breast cancer cells was upregulated by pretreatment with EPI, which also increased the secretion of interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α and expression of perforin and granzyme B in NK cells. These results indicate that EPI-NK cell treatment has synergistic cytotoxic effects against breast cancer cells, and suggest that anthracycline-based chemotherapy and NK cell-based immunotherapy can be combined for more effective breast cancer treatment.