Die spezifische Immuntherapie des Prostatakarzinoms

Abstract

For the first time since the introduction of female sex hormone treatment of carcinoma of the prostate, an entirely new therapeutic approach was tried, i.e., specific immune therapy in the form of chessboard vaccination. With this method, and continuation of hormone therapy, inactivated cancerous cells were injected with neuraminidase intracutaneously into the thigh. Should hormone therapy prove ineffective, a long-term therapeutic effect can be achieved in approximately half of the patients by giving three vaccinations containing 44,400,000 cells. The effectiveness of specific immunotherapy in the form of chessboard vaccinations could be established on the basis of a significant drop in serum phosphatases and carcinoembryonic antigen under therapy, the scintigraphic evidence of remission of osteometastases and not least of all a statistically significant increase in the survival rate during treatment of unconfined metastasizing prostate carcinomas. Even in early stages specific immunotherapy constitutes a new alternative therapeutic method, particularly in the treatment of hormone-independent prostate carcinomas and in cases of estrogen intolerance.

Vaccines as treatments for prostate cancer

“…This approach was favoured in the absence of known tumour-specific target antigens, which are possibly different among individuals. In early studies, irradiated prostate cancer cells, chemically coupled to rabbit γ-globulin as a foreign protein, were used as vaccines 28 , 29 . The use of this approach showed modest induction of tumour-associated antibodies, and further efforts focused on increasing the immunogenicity of these cellular vaccines.…”

Late Results of Complementary Specific Immunostimulation in Metastatic Prostate Carcinoma

“…In 1983, we were able to observe a significant prolon gation of life compared to a reference group treated exclu sively with estrogens in uncontrolled metastatic prostate carcinoma ( fig. 1) [3], In the present paper, we would like to present the late results of 87 patients who were treated with specific immunotherapy and estrogenic hormone therapy. The patients were all observed between 1980 and 1985.…”