Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1975 Feb;31(2):143–156. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1975.19

Active immunotherapy as an adjunct to chemotherapy in the treatment of disseminated malignant melanoma: a pilot study.

G A Currie, T J McElwain
PMCID: PMC2009407  PMID: 1164466

Abstract

In patients with disseminated malignant melanoma an optimal method of immunization with irradiated tumour cells was developed by reference to an in vitro assay for circulating specific serum inhibitors of cell mediated cytotoxicity. This immunization protocol consisted of the intradermal inoculation of 2 times 10(7) irradiated allogeneic melanoma cells admixed with 50 mug of percutaneous BCG. This method of immunization induced a significant but transient fall in the specific inhibitory effects of the sera on tumour directed cytotoxic activity of the patients' lymphocytes. In a pilot group of 30 patients with disseminated malignant melanoma being treated with chemotherapy (DTIC and vincristine) the immunotherapy was given midway between courses of the cytotoxic drugs. There was a correlation between the effects on circulating inhibitor and clinical outcome. The number of objective regressions occurring in this small pilot group was surprisingly high (17/30) and these clinical effects, although obtained in a series without concurrent controls, are presented for discussion. We suggest that the approach illustrated by this study, employing in vitro assays of tumour directed immune responses, may provide a suitable rational basis for the use of active immunotherapy as an adjunct to chemotherapy in the treatment of malignant disease.

Full text

PDF
143

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bloom H. J., Peckham M. J., Richardson A. E., Alexander P. A., Payne P. M. Glioblastoma multiforme: a controlled trial to assess the value of specific active immunotherapy in patients treated by radical surgery and radiotherapy. Br J Cancer. 1973 Mar;27(3):253–267. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1973.30. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bruckner H. W., Mokyr M. B., Mitchell M. S. Effect of imidazole-4-carboxamide, 5-(3,3-dimethyl-1-triazeno) on immunity in patients with malignant melanoma. Cancer Res. 1974 Jan;34(1):181–183. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cheema A. R., Hersh E. M. Patient survival after chemotherapy and its relationship to in vitro lymphocyte blastogenesis. Cancer. 1971 Oct;28(4):851–855. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(1971)28:4<851::aid-cncr2820280408>3.0.co;2-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Currie G. A., Basham C. Serum mediated inhibition of the immunological reactions of the patient to his own tumour: a possible role for circulating antigen. Br J Cancer. 1972 Dec;26(6):427–438. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1972.59. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Currie G. A. Effect of active immunization with irradiated tumour cells on specific serum inhibitors of cell-mediated immunity in patients with disseminated cancer. Br J Cancer. 1973 Jul;28(1):25–35. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1973.67. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gutterman J. U., Mavligit G., McBride C., Frei E., 3rd, Freireich E. J., Hersh E. M. Active immunotherapy with B.C.G. for recurrent malignant melanoma. Lancet. 1973 Jun 2;1(7814):1208–1212. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(73)90526-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HADDOW A., ALEXANDER P. AN IMMUNOLOGICAL METHOD OF INCREASING THE SENSITIVITY OF PRIMARY SARCOMAS TO LOCAL IRRADIATION WITH X RAYS. Lancet. 1964 Feb 29;1(7331):452–457. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(64)90793-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ikonopisov R. L., Lewis M. G., Hunter-Craig I. D., Bodenham D. C., Phillips T. M., Cooling C. I., Proctor J., Fairley G. H., Alexander P. Autoimmunization with irradiated tumour cells in human malignant melanoma. Br Med J. 1970 Jun 27;2(5712):752–754. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5712.752. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Luce J. K. Chemotherapy of malignant melanoma. Cancer. 1972 Dec;30(6):1604–1615. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197212)30:6<1604::aid-cncr2820300629>3.0.co;2-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Luce J. K., Thurman W. G., Isaacs B. L., Talley R. W. Clinical trials with the antitumor agent 5-(3,3-dimethyl-1-triazeno)imidazole-4-carboxamide(NSC-45388). Cancer Chemother Rep. 1970 Apr;54(2):119–124. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Pearson J. W., Pearson G. R., Gibson W. T., Chermann J. C., Chirigos M. A. Combined chemoimmunostimulation therapy against murine leukemia. Cancer Res. 1972 May;32(5):904–907. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Powles R. L., Crowther D., Bateman C. J., Beard M. E., McElwain T. J., Russell J., Lister T. A., Whitehouse J. M., Wrigley P. F., Pike M. Immunotherapy for acute myelogenous leukaemia. Br J Cancer. 1973 Nov;28(5):365–376. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1973.162. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sokal J. E., Aungst C. W., Han T. Use of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin as adjuvant in human cell vaccines. Cancer Res. 1972 Jul;32(7):1584–1589. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sokal J. E. Immunologic studies in lymphoma and leukemia, and exploration of antitumor immunotherapy. J Surg Oncol. 1973 Jun;5(6):557–566. doi: 10.1002/jso.2930050606. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Vogler W. R., Chan Y. K. Prolonging remission in myeloblastic leukemia by tice-strain bacillus Calmette-Guérin. Lancet. 1974 Jul 20;2(7873):128–131. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(74)91556-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ziegler J. L., Magrath I. T. BCG immunotherapy in Burkitt's lymphoma: preliminary results of a randomized clinical trial. Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 1973 Dec;39:199–202. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES