title: The cellular immunotherapy of primary brain tumors.
abstract: The use of adjuvant immunotherapy for the treatment of primary malignant brain tumors dates to studies performed in the 1960's and 1970's using non-specific immune stimulators. Although the theoretical designs have remained similar, recent advances in molecular biotechnology have produced a new group of recombinant cytokines, spawning a new generation of immunotherapy-based clinical trials. In contrast to other published Phase I/II studies, we have had highly encouraging preliminary results using lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells and recombinant human Interleukin-2 (rIL-2; Cetus, Emeryville, CA), when the patients' use of corticosteroids could be restricted while on study. Patients with recurrent grade 3/3 glioma received multiple cycles of autologous LAK cells and rIL-2, post-operatively, via an Ommaya reservoir implanted into the tumor cavity following re-operation. The overall median survival for 13 patients with grade 3/3 glioma has not yet been reached at 55 weeks following second surgery, [mean +/- SEM, 64.7 +/- 10.5 weeks], with 5 patients still alive. Three patients have had partial responses (PR) demonstrated by CT scanning. In addition, one patient with grade 2/3 glioma has had a complete response (CR), with the disappearance of all residual CT-documented enhancement and mass effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Medical Center, New York 10016.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hayes
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005910:Glioma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015979:Killer Cells, Lymphokine-Activated; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D007376:Interleukin-2