COMPARISON OF IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSES AND SURVIVAL PERIODS IN CANCER PATIENTS TREATED WITH INTRADERMAL AND INTRAMUSCULAR INJECTION OF THE STREPTOCOCCAL PREPARATION OK-432

Nonspecific immunotherapy with OK-432, penicillin and heat treated lyophilized powder of Su-strain of streptococcus pyogenes A3, was evaluated in patients with recurrent or unresectable malignant tumors at various digestive organs to assess the relative benefit of the preparation administered by different routes. Comparative studies were made of the survival period, the variation in immunological parameters, and the incidence of adverse reactions in two groups of patients with uniform background factors: 30 receiving the preparation intradermally and 21 receiving intramuscular doses of the preparation. The survival rate was significantly higher (P=0.001) for patients receiving intradermal than those receiving intramuscular doses of the preparation. In the former group, serious adverse reaction was not found but more marked improvement was achieved in various immunological parameters examined. The results of the present study showed that the preparation is of greater value when it is administered intradermally than intramuscularly to treat malignant tumor at various digestive organs.