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Antibody responses to mycobacterial antigens in patients immunized with BCG for the treatment of neoplastic disease
Author(s) -
Kaplan Mark H.,
Armstrong Donald,
Pinsky Carl
Publication year - 1980
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(19801115)46:10<2195::aid-cncr2820461016>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - antigen , medicine , precipitin , immunology , antibody , vaccination , agglutination (biology) , bcg vaccine , tuberculosis , antibody response , mycobacterium tuberculosis , immunization , mycobacterium , virology , pathology
Precipitin and agglutination antibody response to antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was measured in 43 patients with neoplastic disease who were treated with weekly BCG or intratumor BCG vaccination. Resuspended freeze‐dried Tice vaccine was shown to contain soluble mycobacterial antigens. Fourteen patients receiving weekly BCG vaccination developed intense precipitin and agglutination antibody response over the course of several months. Twenty‐nine patients receiving intratumor and oral vaccination developed less intense antibody response. Twenty‐one of 28 purified protein derivative (PPD)‐negative patients converted their PPD. No correlation between antibody, PPD response and anti‐tumor effect could be identified. The importance of identifying the soluble antigen in BCG and of defining the humoral response to purified antigens is discussed.