Effects of chemotherapeutic agents and immunomodulators on host defense mechanisms: a basis for less empirical chemoimmunotherapy approaches

The effect of antineoplastic agents on immune responses is heterogenous. Moreover, the immunomodulators usually employed in experimental and clinical studies seem to act differentially on humoral and cellular immune functions and on the cell-subpopulations involved in these functions. Thus, taking into account the different activities of immunodepressive and immunostimulant agents, a rationale can be developed in drawing experimental immunotherapeutic protocols. The results obtained combining several antineoplastic drugs (Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, 5-Fluorouracil, Daunomycin) and several immunomodulators (Corynebacterium parvum, BCG and Levamisole) are summarized. The experimental data show that the best therapeutic activity can be achieved with those combinations (Adriamycin - C. parvum and Cyclophosphamide C. parvum) that were expected to give a synergistic effect from the basic data previously obtained.