Een citaat uit boven genoemd Blood artikel:
"Although H/RS cells are surrounded by a prominent lymphocytic infiltration,33 HL is characterized by its unique ability to cause immunodeficiency in terms of an antilymphoma immune response, as well as to provide immune-evasion mechanisms.34,35 Poppema et al have demonstrated that specific cytotoxic T- or NK-cell populations are absent in the environment of H/RS cells.36 Reiners et al25 investigated functional NK-cell defects and found that in peripheral blood of HL patients, NK-cell function is impaired. This impairment correlated with the downregulation of the NK-cell receptors NKp30 and, in particular, NKG2D. Consequently, using a CD30+ cell line (L428), the authors could demonstrate in vitro that the cytotoxic activity of NK cells isolated from blood of HL patients was significantly reduced compared with NK cells from healthy donors. They further demonstrated that the addition of AFM13 to NK cells from HL patients resulted in a restoration of cytotoxicity. Furthermore, in the framework of this phase 1 study, ex vivo killing assays with isolated NK cells from patients were also performed by the authors. Although NK cells before therapy were inactive, NK cells isolated after AFM13 treatment showed a cytotoxic activity close to NK cells from healthy donors. Thus, AFM13 could overcome immune-escape mechanisms of HL."
Reeds in 2015 kon het succes van AFM13 +NK cellen combi dus voorspeld worden. Hodgkin is buitengewoon goed in het ontwijken van het immuun systeem. T cellen hebben hier weinig te zoeken, NK cellen hebben na te zijn geactiveerd door AFM13 meer impact. Maar nu weten we dat NK cellen van donoren + AFM13 kennelijk het enige afdoende antwoord is.