MAINTENANCE OF THE ACTIVATION OF PERITONEAL-MACROPHAGES IN PATIENTS WITH OVARIAN-CANCER BY SIZOFIRAN AND RECOMBINANT INTERFERON-GAMMA

Four patients with ovarian cancer received 20 mg of sizofiran, a beta-1,3-glucan (molecular weight: 450,000), intramuscularly one day before and 4, 7, 11, 14, 18 and 21 days after second look laparotomy and recombinant interferon-gamma (rIFN-gamma) intraperitoneally on the day of second look laparotomy and 4, 7, 11, 14, 18 and 21 days thereafter. The peritoneal cavity was washed with physiological saline and peritoneal macrophages (M-phi) were isolated. The number of M-phi increased 30-1600 times during the treatment period. The concentrations of interleukin-1, interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor and prostaglandin E2 were also found increased in the supernatant fluid of M-phi cultured for 24 hours with 10-mu-g/ml of lipopolysaccharide. The present study demonstrated that the activation of peritoneal M-phi could bc maintained and its number was increased by repeated dosing of sizofiran and rIFN-gamma in combination every three or four days in patients with ovarian cancer. Peritoneal M-phi thus activated may exert an antitumor effect on ovarian cancer.