BCG immunotherapy for recurrent malignant melanoma

✍ Scribed by Shelley L. Rasmussen; Jordan U. Gutterman; Evan M. Hersh; Sydney Boston; M. Marshall; Barry W. Brown

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1980
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 789 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0340-7004
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00199274

✦ Synopsis

A study was made of immunologic parameters obtained from patients with stage IIIB malignant melanoma who were treated with BCG. Patients with the longest disease-free interval and survival times were those who had small initial skin test reactions and developed larger reactions during the course of BCG treatment. Of these patients, those with less than five involved nodes had the longest disease-free interval and survival times. Patients who had increases in skin test reactivity generally showed these increases by the first visit after initiation of BCG therapy.

therapy in melanoma patients with regional metastases [1,13].

Delayed hypersensitivity skin testing was done on our initial group of melanoma patients treated with BCG. A study was made of these immunologic parameters from patients with malignant melanoma metastatic to regional lymph nodes (stage IIIB). The results of skin tests taken before and during the course of BCG therapy were analyzed to examine relationships between the immunologic data and the responses of disease-free interval and survival.