[Immunotherapy, with OK-432 for cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma]

The prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is very poor, due to the extreme failure of the immuno-surveillance mechanism in such cases. As an immunotherapeutic agent, OK-432 was administered to NPC patients. Cases were divided into two groups. One was given OK-432 for less than 6 months (short-term group), while a long-term group, was treated with OK-432 for over 6 months. These two groups were evaluated for immunological activity and prognosis. As immunological parameters, the numbers of white blood cells and lymphocytes were counted, and delayed skin reactivities with Su-PS and PPD were determined. No influence on the number of white blood cells and lymphocytes could be observed in either of the two groups. However, the skin tests showed better improvement of immunity in the long-term group than in the short-term cases. Furthermore, these reactivities correlated well with the clinical status of NPC patients. As to the absolute number of lymphocytes, improvement in the long-term NPC group was delayed in comparison to that of another head and neck carcinoma group given long-term OK-432 treatment. The prognosis of the long-term administered group was apparently better than that of the short-term group. Long-term administration of OK-432 is therefore indispensable for the treatment of NPC cases, because of the extreme decline of their immunity.