Adjuvant treatment with polyadenylic-polyuridylic acid (PolyA.PolyU) in operable breast cancer

Adjuvant immunotherapy with polyadenylic-polyuridylic acid (PolyA.PolyU) was tested in a randomised trial on 300 patients with operable breast cancer, all of whom were treated by surgery with or without radiotherapy. They were randomly divided into an experimental group of 155 patients who were treated with 30 mg PolyA.PolyU intravenously per week for 6 weeks and a control group of 145 patients who received normal saline intravenously on the same schedule. The mean follow-up time was more than 50 months in both groups. The overall survival was significantly higher in the treated group (p ≤ 0.05), in whom the 5-year 'relapse-free' survival was also increased. In node-positive patients, treatment increased the relapse-free survival (p ≤ 0.03) and overall survival (p ≤ 0.07). No side-effects were noted. Thus, immunotherapy with PolyA.PolyU appears to be a simple, non-toxic, and efficient adjuvant treatment in operable breast cancer.