Multimodal Treatment Including N-cws/Lipiodol Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinomas -Its Safety and Therapeutic Efficacy-

Kazuo Watanabe, Takehide Asano*, Munemasa Ryu, Kaoru Sakamoto, Yoshihiro Fujita, Ichiro Honda, Satoshi Watanabe, Yoshihiro Kawakami

Division of Gastroenterology, Chiba Cancer Center Hospital
*Second Department of Surgery, Chiba University, School of Medicine

Intraareterial infusion immunotherapy using Nocardia rubra cell wall skeleton-Lipiodol mixture (N-cws/Lip) was attempted in 24 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and its safety and therapeutic efficacy were evaluated. 1) Frequent fever, vomiting and temporary hypotension developed, but because arterial ischemia was avoided, no gastroduodenal ulcer, cholecystitis, or liver dysfunction was associated with this therapy. 2) With a possible aid of host-mediated, activated immunity, the treatment decreased the AFP, decreased the size of the tumor on diagnostic imaging, and induced topical infiltration of lymphocytes and formation of granulation tissue with necrosis of the primary tumor, and necrosis of tumor emboli in the portal veins was induced. 3) The lymphocyte subpopulation in the peripheral blood of the patients after therapy consisted of a decreased Ts, and an elevated Th/Ts ratio as seen in the immunoactivated status. This immunotherapy is safe and it was suggested that activation of immunity working against tumor growth was involved in the mechanism of this immunotherapy.

Key words
intraarterial infusion immunotherapy, nocardia rubra cell wall skelton, hepatocellular carcinoma, lymphocyte subpopulation

Reprint requests
Kazuo Watanabe Division of Gastroenterology Chiba Cancer Center Hospital
666-2 Nitona-cho, Chiba, 280 JAPAN

Accepted
January 10, 1990

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