Summary
Of 112 patients (maximum age 70 years) with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, 62 (55%) went into remission on an induction therapy of cytosine arabinoside and daunorubicin. 20 patients were randomized for maintenance treatment consisting of chemotherapy only and 22 patients for combined chemo-immunotherapy. The chemotherapy consisted in 5-day courses of daunorubicin and cytosine arabinoside and of thioguanine and cytosine arabinoside, alternating every month. The chemo-immunotherapy group also received weekly intracutaneous injections of 109 allogeneic nonirradiated leukemic myeloblasts and 106 BCG organisms (Glaxo) by Heaf gun.
The median duration of the first remission was 164 days for the chemotherapy group and 464 days for the chemo-immunotherapy group. The corresponding median times of survival were 344 days for the first group and 734 days for the second group. The difference concerning median duration of survival is statistically significant. Thus immunotherapy seems to prolong survival.
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Lindemalm, C.Sn., Killander, A., Björkholm, M. et al. Adjuvant immunotherapy in acute nonlymphocytic leukemia. Cancer Immunol Immunother 4, 179–183 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00204737
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00204737