Clinical-immunological efficiency of vaccinotherapy in advanced skin melanoma

Twenty nine advanced melanoma skin patients were treated with a polyantigenic vaccine, prepared from murine melanoma (B16) and carcinoma (LLC) cells. Inducing course of vaccinotherapy consisted of 5 subcutaneous immunizations with a week and 5 with two-week intervals. A consolidating treatment included monthly vaccinations. The vaccinitherapy was shown to improve 3-year survival rate (24 % versus 3 % in the control group). Moreover, combination of immunotherapy and surgery was found to be effective in the advanced melanoma treatment. Different clinical effect was explained by the increase in production of serum INF-γ reflecting the activation of cells of anti-tumor immunity reactivity, whereas the elevated level of serum IL-4 prior to vaccinotherapy was associated with poor prognosis in patients with advanced skin melanoma.