Corynebacterium parvum as an immunotherapeutic agent in an ovarian cancer model

Corynebacterium parvum, an anaerobic diptheroid, has been demonstrated to be therapeutic in several tumor models by stimulating immunologic defenses. Formalin-killed C. parvum was investigated in the present study as an immunotherapeutic agent in the treatment of murine ovarian cancer, a model that closely simulates the activity of clinical disease. C. parvum successfully prolonged survival in murine ovarian cancer and its effectiveness improved with increasing dosage. The efficacy of C. parvum was further enhanced by a multiple-dose regimen. A previous report demonstrated the efficacy of heterologous tumor antisera in the serologic treatment of murine ovarian cancer. At the dosages investigated, the combination of C. parvum and heterologous tumor antisera (SG-200) provided longer survival than either modality independently. C. parvum is an effective anti-cancer agent in murine ovarian cancer and may find utility in a clinical setting.