Figure 5.

NK cells provide superior antitumor effects when combined with radiotherapy. (A) Representative bioluminescence images showing tumor burden at weeks 2, 7, and 10 after injection of luciferase transfected PANC-1 tumors. (B) Quantification of captured tumor burden as assessed in A. (C) Representative axial MRI images of mice bearing established orthotopic PANC-1 tumors assessed 14 d after NK cell infusion. Tumors are indicated with white arrows. (D) Tumor growth of subcutaneous PANC-1 xenograft tumors from indicated treatment groups as assessed by external caliper. (E) Kaplan–Meier curve displaying survival fraction of mice from experiments described in C. (F) Immune-competent BALB/c mice were injected subcutaneously with RENCA mouse renal carcinoma cells, administered local RT, then treated with 2 × 10⁷ activated C57BL/6 (allogeneic) or BALB/c (syngeneic) NK cells. Mice were monitored for tumor growth. All survival experiments were performed at least twice with four mice per group. Statistics were determined by two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-test or by Log-rank test where appropriate. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, ***p ≤ 0.001.