Adjuvant immunotherapy with a S. pyogenes preparation (OK432) in urogenital cancer patients

We evaluated the immunostimulative activity of a Streptococcus pyogenes preparation (OK432) in 50 patients with urogenital carcinoma. Differential lymphocyte blastogenic response to mitogens and quantitation of the lymphocyte subpopulation bearing Fc receptor sites were the two immunoparameters used in this study to assess the status of the cancer-bearing host. Using these immunoparameters, we observed a pattern whereby a substantial deviation from unity in the mitogen reactive ratio and an increase in the number of IgGFcR+T cells were correlated with malignant progression; administration of the immunopotentiator OK432 had a marked effect on immunoparameters reflected by our assays, with a trend toward return to normal values with progression of immunotherapy.