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A phase II study of autologous irradiated tumor cells plus BCG in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma
Author(s) -
Frederick Laucius J.,
Bodurtha Audley J.,
Mastrangelo Michael J.,
Bellet Robert E.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(197711)40:5<2091::aid-cncr2820400517>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - medicine , melanoma , metastatic melanoma , regimen , surgery , metastatic tumor , oncology , metastasis , cancer , cancer research
Eighteen patients with surgically incurable metastatic malignant melanoma were treated with a mixture of irradiated (15,000 rads) autologous tumor cells (1‐2 × 10 8 ) and BCG (Glaxo, 2‐4.5 × 10 6 organisms), which was injected intradermally (in five divided doses) every 2 weeks (X5). Four of 18 (22%) evaluable patients achieved objective remissions. It is concluded that this treatment regimen does not have general clinical application because the remissions were infrequent, of short duration (median, 3 months) and occurred only in patients with minimal, nonvisceral tumor burdens.