Abstract
Eighteen patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, who were treated by vaccines for active specific immunotherapy, also completed skin testing with autologous tumor cells, both prior to and following vaccine treatment. All patients have now been followed for more than 5 years. Ten patients who remained skin-test-negative following treatment had no clinical responses, and all had expired by 22 months. Eight patients became skin-test-positive; three of these had clinical regressions and three remain alive after more than 69 months. The survival times of the skin-test-positive group were significantly superior to those of the skin-test-negative group. The results suggest that skin testing with autologous tumor cells may accurately identify those patients who have acquired antigenspecific cell-mediated antitumor immunity.
Keywords: Carcinoma, Tumor Cell, Cell Carcinoma, Cancer Research, Renal Cell Carcinoma
Footnotes
Supported by U.S. Public Health Service grants CA30 573, CA27 625, and by a gift from Mr. Joseph Hanna
References
- 1.Askenase PW, Hayden BJ, Gershon RK. Augmentation of delayed-type hypersensitivity by doses of cyclophosphamide which do not affect antibody responses. J Exp Med. 1975;141:697. doi: 10.1084/jem.141.3.697. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Berd D, Mastrangelo MJ, Engstrom PF, Paul A, Maguire H. Augmentation of the human immune response by cyclophosphamide. Cancer Res. 1982;42:4862. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Berd D, Maguire HC, Mastrangelo MJ. Induction of cell-mediated immunity to autologous melanoma cells and regression of metastases after treatment with a melanoma cell vaccine preceded by cyclophosphamide. Cancer Res. 1986;46:2572. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Burdick JF, Wells SA, Jr, Herberman RB. Collective review: immunologic evaluation of patients with cancer by delayed hypersensitivity reactions. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1975;141:779. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Hoover HC, Surdyke MG, Dangel RB, Peters LC, Hanna MG. Delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity to autologous tumor cells in colorectal cancer patients immunized with an autologous tumor cell: bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine. Cancer Res. 1984;44:1671. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Hoover HC, Surdyke MG, Dangel RB, Peters LC, Hanna MG. Prospectively randomized trial of adjuvant active-specific immunotherapy for colorectal cancer. Cancer. 1985;55:1236. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19850315)55:6<1236::aid-cncr2820550616>3.0.co;2-#. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.McCune CS, Schapira DV, Henshaw EC. Specific immunotherapy for advanced renal carcinoma: evidence for the polyclonality of metastases. Cancer. 1981;47:1984. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19810415)47:8<1984::aid-cncr2820470814>3.0.co;2-j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.McCune CS, O'Donnell RW, Horan PK, Budd HS, Spennacchio JL, Chuang C, Henshaw EC. Antitumor immunity induced by hybrid murine tumor cells: requirements for optimal immunization. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1982;69:647. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.McCune CS, Henshaw EC, Marquis DM, Sahasrabudhe DM, Leary JF, O'Donnell RW. Human hybrid tumor cells: observations on their production and clinical effects. J Biol Response Mod. 1987;6:130. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Mitchell MS, Kan-Mitchell J, Kempf RA, Harel W, Shau H, Lind S. Active specific immunotherapy for melanoma: phase I trial of allogeneic lysates and a novel adjuvant. Cancer Res. 1988;48:5883. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11.Sahasrabudhe DM, deKernion JB, Pontes JE, Ryan DH, O'Donnell RW, Marquis DM, Mudholkar GS, McCune CS. Specific immunotherapy with suppressor function inhibition for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. J Biol Response Mod. 1986;5:58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12.Sokol JE. Measurement of delayed skin test responses (letter) N Engl J Med. 1975;29:501. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197509042931013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]