title: Effect of OK-432 on cytotoxic activity in cancer patients without tumor burden.
abstract: The present study was designed to determine the optimal therapeutic protocol for OK-432, a streptococcal preparation, and to clarify the kinetics of various immunological parameters following intracutaneous administration of OK-432 in 39 disease-free postoperative patients with early cancer. These patients were randomly divided into 4 groups according to the dose (1KE or 5KE) and the frequency of administration (one or 3 times every other day) of OK-432. NK activity 3-4 days after the first injection increased significantly in patients whose pretreatment baseline activity was below the lower level of normal values (60 LU) in all study groups (P < 0.05). The elevation of post-therapeutic NK activity lasted for 2 weeks in the group of patients given repeated injections. The serum content of cytotoxic activity against L-M cells increased significantly after the injection of OK-432 at doses of more than 5 KE doses (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that repeated injections of OK-432 over a period of a week have important immunotherapeutic results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Fukui Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujieda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Isobe
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nakagawara
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nishi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagahara
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoshino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007167:Immunotherapy; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D007739:L Cells; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D010844:Picibanil / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D010844:Picibanil