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Personal experience withCorynebacterium parvum in human cancers

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Abstract

This article reviews the results obtained from treating over 800 cancer patients withCorynebacterium parvum in various clinical situations. No fatalities or severe complications occurred.C. parvum is a very safe agent, although it may induce temporary fever and chills, especially when given by the intravenous route. Its use as a single agent has induced some regressions of established tumors when given intravenously, and has always significantly increased the duration of response in chemotherapy responders as shown by 4 distinct randomized studies. These studies and others lead to the conclusion that nonspecific immune stimulation has a role to play in the treatment of disseminated tumors as well as of minimal residual disease, and that far from conflicting with the use of cytostatic agents, it may increase their effectiveness. The mechanisms by which this can be accomplished are discussed and some unsolved problems are reviewed relating to the proper scheduling of immunochemotherapy, the monitoring of nonspecific immune stimulation and the exact place ofC. parvum in a multi-modality approach to established tumors. It is emphasized that the concepts derived from the use ofC. parvum are more important than the agent itself, which is only one of numerous immunopotentiators that can be used in various combinations.

Résumé

L'article revoit les résultats obtenus avec leCorynebacterium parvum dans plus de 800 cancers à divers stades cliniques. Il n'y eut ni décès, ni complications graves.C. parvum est une thérapeutique sans danger. Il peut produire de la fièvre et des frissons, surtout lorsqu'il est administré par voie i.v. Utilisé comme seule thérapeutique et par voie i.V., il a produit des régressions tumorales et a toujours accru de faÇon significative la durée des réponses à la chimiothérapie chez les malades sensibles à ce type de traitement (4 études randomisées). Ces études, et d'autres, ont fait naÎtre le concept que la stimulation immunologique non spécifique avait une place dans le traitement des cancers disséminés et des résidus tumoraux minimes; de plus, loin d'entrer en conflit avec les cytostatiques, elle a peut-Être un effet synergique. Les mécanismes de cette action sont discutés. Plusieurs problèmes ne sont pas encore résolus: schémas exacts d'immunochimiothérapie, surveillance de la stimulation immunologique aspécifique, place exacte deC. parvum dans les thérapeutiques combinées du cancer. Les conceptions nées de l'utilisation deC. parvum sont plus utiles que l'agent lui-mÊme: il n'est qu'un des nombreux potentialisateurs immunologiques qui peuvent Être utilisés dans diverses combinaisons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service d'Oncologie, Unité d'Enseignement et de Recherche de Bobigny, University of Paris, Bobigny, France

    Lucien IsraËl M.D. & Richard Edelstein M.D.

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  1. Lucien IsraËl M.D.
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  2. Richard Edelstein M.D.
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Supported in part by the Cancer Institute, Inc. (New York), the Chemotherapy Foundation (New York), and the Groupement d'Etudes et Recherches Cancérologiques (Paris).

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IsraËl, L., Edelstein, R. Personal experience withCorynebacterium parvum in human cancers. World J. Surg. 1, 585–594 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01556183

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