Bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy of the cancer-contaminated wound.

A model has been developed to study the usefulness of immunologically active irrigating solutions in the prevention of implantation of cancer cells in surgical wounds. A poorly differentiated transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (MBT₂) was used in serial transplants. Tumor suspensions were instilled into 1-cm-long, 0.3-cm-deep incisions in the lateral thigh and irrigated with test or control solutions. Levamisole, Glaxo strain Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), and Tice strain BCG were compared with distilled water and saline controls. Effects of preimmunization with BCG were also studied. Significant improvements were found only in animals treated with Tice strain BCG. Seventy percent of Tice strain BCG-treated animals were long-term survivors. Overall, BCG-preimmunized animals showed slightly slower tumor growth rates, but only the Tice strain BCG animals showed lower tumor incidence and higher long-term survival (40%). BCG dosage and route of administration are discussed. The current study supports the proposition that BCG may be useful in decreasing the local postoperative recurrence of tumor in patients with bladder carcinoma.