Hazards and complications of BCG immunotherapy

The hazards and complications of BCG immunotherapy, as well as the potential for enhanced tumor growth, make it imperative that the clinician know the clinical setting in which BCG can offer therapeutic benefit. This would include the intratumor injection of localized intradermal tumor deposits of melanoma and breast cancer, chemoimmunotherapy with BCG to prolong remission in acute myelogenous leukemia, and possibly the use of BCG as an adjuvant to control minimal residual disease. Aside from these situations, it is advisable to treat patients only on clearly defined experimental protocols.