Principles of biotherapy and its application to the treatment of disseminated renal cancer.
Monoclonal antibody technology permits the preparation of tumor-specific immunoglobulin reagents that can be used directly in tumor therapy or that can be coupled to various chemotherapeutic drugs or toxins to aid in their delivery to the tumor site and thus enhance their therapeutic effectiveness. Additionally, recombinant DNA technology has facilitated the economic production of rare lymphokines (e.g., interleukin 2, interferon alpha and interferon gamma) or cytokines (tumor necrosis factor, lymphotoxin) that can either modulate the host immune response or kill tumor cells, respectively. These developments collectively have led to the development of a fourth modality for treatment of human cancers--biotherapy--as an addition to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy modalities. This paper presents the rationale and emerging practice of the biotherapy of cancer and documents early clinical results, including the treatment of metastatic renal carcinoma at the Biological Therapy Institute.
O'Connor
T E
TE
Biological Therapy Institute and Biotherapeutics Inc., Franklin, Tennessee 37064.
West
W H
WH
Marshall
G D
GD
Orr
D W
DW
Lewis
M
M
Oldham
R K
RK
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000917:Antibody Formation; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D007167:Immunotherapy; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D008222:Lymphokines