Activated lymphocyte therapy is one of the immunotherapies for cancer patients that is expected to prolong life without any adverse effects and maintain satisfactory quality of life (QOL). However, the objective assessment and maintenance of a standardized evaluation of QOL are not easy. We aimed to evaluate activated autologous lymphocyte therapy for cancer dogs using the characteristics of the cultured cells and QOL as perceived by owners.

In in vitro experiments, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from healthy dogs were stimulated using anti-CD3 antibody and recombinant interleukin-2 under a closed system. The number of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T lymphocytes in the cultured cells was higher than that of PBMCs (P < 0.05). Natural killer activity, proenkephalin (known as the precursor of endogenous opioids) and interferon-γ mRNA in activated lymphocytes were significantly higher than in PBMCs (P < 0.05). Met-enkephalin was detected in activated lymphocytes. QOL of 58 dogs afflicted with common types of cancers in humans increased after every administration of activated lymphocyte therapy (P < 0.05).

Overall, these results indicated that activated lymphocyte therapy could have beneficial effects on QOL in dogs with cancers. This was objectively evaluated and this improvement was related to presence of opioid-producing lymphocytes.

活化淋巴细胞疗法是癌症患者的免疫疗法之一，有望在没有任何不良反应的情况下延长生命并保持令人满意的生活质量（QOL）。然而，对QOL的标准化评价的客观评价和维护并不容易。我们的目的是利用培养细胞的特征和主人感知的 QOL 评估活化的自体淋巴细胞疗法对癌症犬的治疗。

在体外实验中，在封闭系统下使用抗CD3抗体和重组白细胞介素2刺激从健康犬采集的外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）。培养细胞中CD4 ⁺和CD8 ⁺ T淋巴细胞数量高于PBMC（P < 0.05）。活化淋巴细胞中的自然杀伤活性、脑啡肽原（称为内源性阿片类药物的前体）和干扰素-γ mRNA 显着高于 PBMC（P< 0.05)。在活化的淋巴细胞中检测到金属脑啡肽。58 只患人类常见癌症的犬在每次接受活化淋巴细胞治疗后，QOL 均有所增加（P < 0.05）。

总体而言，这些结果表明活化淋巴细胞疗法可能对患有癌症的犬的 QOL 产生有益影响。这是客观评估的，这种改善与产生阿片样物质的淋巴细胞的存在有关。