Lung Cancer

Transfer factor in the treatment of carcinoma of the lung.
Author
Kirsh MM; Orringer MB; McAuliffe S; Schork MA; Katz B; Silva J Jr
Address
Source
Ann Thorac Surg, 1984 Aug, 38:2, 140-5
Abstract
From 1976 to 1982, 63 patients with carcinoma of the lung underwent curative pulmonary resection, mediastinal lymph node dissection, and postoperative mediastinal irradiation when indicated. After operation, the patients were randomized by cell type and stage of disease into two groups. Beginning 1 month postoperatively, Group 1 patients (N = 28) received 1 ml of transfer factor that had been extracted from the blood of normal individuals. Subsequent doses were administered at 3-month intervals. Group 2 patients (N = 35) served as controls. There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to age, sex, extent of resection, histological cell type, or stage of disease. Twenty of the 28 treated patients were alive and free from disease from 7 to 77 months after treatment, whereas 17 of the 35 control patients were free from disease. The 1-year survival for Group 1 was 84% and for Group 2, 81%. The 2-year survival was 78% for Group 1 and 46% for Group 2 (p = 0.045). The survival rates by stage of disease were as follows: Stage I, 15 out of 17 or 88% in Group 1 and 15 out of 23 or 65% in Group 2 (p = 0.097); Stages II and III, 5 out of 11 or 45% in Group 1 and 3 out of 12 or 25% in Group 2 (p = 0.304). The results of the study suggest that the administration of transfer factor to patients who have undergone pulmonary resection for carcinoma of the lung can have a significant impact on the prolongation of life.

Randomized controlled trial of transfer factor immunochemotherapy as an adjunct to surgical treatment for primary adenocarcinoma of the lung.
Author
Fujisawa T; Yamaguchi Y; Kimura H; Arita M; Shiba M; Baba M
Address
Source
Jpn J Surg, 1984 Nov, 14:6, 452-8
Abstract
A total of 102 patients were studied in a randomized controlled trail to evaluate the clinical effect of transfer factor (TF) for primary resected adenocarcinoma of the lung. The TF and Control groups consisted of 50 and 52 randomly chosen patients, respectively. However, 6 and 5 patients were excluded from both groups for various reasons, therefore the total of cases eligible for evaluation were 44 and 47 in the TF and Control groups, respectively. The clinical features of both groups were similar. The survival of the TF group was significantly better than that of Controls in Stage I cases (p less than 0.05), however, there was no significant difference in patients in Stages II, III and IV. Significant differences were found between the TF and Control groups in curative resection cases (p less than 0.05), however, no significant difference was seen in either the relatively curative resection or noncurative resection groups. TF seems to inhibit postoperative recurrence and appears to be an effective postoperative adjuvant immunotherapeutic for primary resected adenocarcinoma of the lung, especially at the relatively early stages.


Adjuvant immunotherapy of primary resected lung cancer with transfer factor.
Author
Fujisawa T; Yamaguchi Y; Kimura H; Arita M; Baba M; Shiba M
Address
Source
Cancer, 1984 Aug, 54:4, 663-9
Abstract
One hundred seventy-one patients were studied in order to evaluate the clinical efficacy of the transfer factor (TF) for primary resected lung cancers under a randomized controlled trial. Eligible cases for evaluation were randomly chosen at 75 and 74 patients in TF and control groups, respectively. The same long-term intermittent adjuvant chemotherapy was administered to two groups as a standard therapy. The distribution of clinical features in both groups was very similar. The overall survival rates of the TF group at 2 and 4 years postoperatively were 69% and 53%, respectively, which was about 15% better than the control group, but this difference could not yet be considered statistically significant. The survival of the TF group was significantly better than that of the control group in patients with Stages I + II or curative resection (P less than 0.05 by Cox-Mantel test); however, there was no significant difference in patients with Stages III + IV, or noncurative resection. The recurrence rate of pulmonary and mediastinal regions was less in the TF group. In conclusion, TF seems to suppress postoperative recurrence and appears to be beneficial for primary resected lung cancer patients, especially at early stages, as postoperative adjuvant immunotherapy.