ACTIVE IMMUNOTHERAPY WITH B.C.G. FOR RECURRENT MALIGNANT MELANOMA

Adjuvant immunotherapy with B.C.G. was administered by scarification to twenty-eight patients after surgical resection of recurrent advanced malignant melanoma (stage III and IV). A lyophilised strain of B.C.G. (Tice) was compared to liquid B.C.G. (Pasteur) in various doses. Eight out of nine patients treated with Tice B.C.G. are alive and disease-free beyond one year (median, 60+ weeks). Sixteen out of nineteen patients treated with Pasteur B.C.G. are still alive (median, 40+ weeks), but only eight of these are disease-free. There has been a significant decrease in the relapse-rate and a significant improvement in the survival of patients treated with Tice B.C.G. compared to similar patient treated by surgery alone. There has been only slight improvement in prognosis in Pasteur B.C.G. treated patients. High doses of Tice B.C.G. induced a striking improvement in delayed-hypersensitivity skin reactions. Immunotherapy with lyophilised Tice B.C.G. seems to improve the prognosis of patients with resectable advanced malignant melanoma.