Immunotherapy with tumor vaccine, BCG, and normal plasma during radiation-reduced tumor immunity

✍ Scribed by J. Vaage

• Book ID: 104660451
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1979
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 472 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0340-7004
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00199197

✦ Synopsis

The therapeutic use of (a) radiation-inactivated tumor cells, (b) Bacillus Calmette-Gu&in (BCG), and (c) heparinized plasma from normal mice to reduce radiation-induced impairment of existing antitumor resistance was investigated in female C3H/He hosts of syngeneic mammary carcinoma implants. The mice, which had been moderately presensitized 50 days before challenge, were given 300 rad whole-body irradiation at various times up to the day of challenge and 3 days after. Irradiated presensitized and irradiated unsensitized animals were maximally immunodepressed 1 -2 weeks after exposure. The levels of resistance seen in unirradiated presensitized and in unirradiated unsensitized controls were recovered by irradiated presensitized and by irradiated unsensitized mice in about 3 and 4 weeks, respectively. Repeated injections of radiationinactivated tumor cells were most effective in supporting the immune status of irradiated mice and in promoting an early recovery. Injections of BCG had only an insignificant effect. Injections of normal plasma was effective in reducing the immune suppression but did not promote an earlier recovery.