[The effect of immunotherapy with thymopentin on the parameters of cellular immunity and the clinical course of gynecologic tumor patients].

In 25 patients with cervical, uterine and ovarian cancer with a depletion of T-helper cells and a lack of reactivity in the LMI-Test a course of immunotherapy with thymopentin (Timunox, Cilag Biotech) at a dosage of 100 mg/die for 2 weeks and subsequently 100 mg 3 x/week for 4 weeks was performed and a comparison was made with a control group of 59 patients receiving no immunotherapy. The following parameters of cell-mediated immunity were determined: (1) leucocyte-migration-inhibition-test (LMI-test) against the tumor and varidase, and (2) number of T-helper/inducer-, T-suppressor/cytotoxic-, total T-, and natural killer cells in the peripheral blood. After a course of immunotherapy no changes in the mean value of the percentage of the cell-subpopulations could be observed, but in a quarter of all patients a reaction in the LMI-test could be shown. In the control group, under chemotherapy, the percentage of T-helper-, T-suppressor- and total T-cells decreased strongly, whereas in the immunotherapy group the percentage of these populations remained unchanged. Under the restriction of a mean observation time of only 18 (5-32) months no differences concerning the survival time between both groups could be observed; only in advanced ovarian cancer patients could a slight positive effect of immunotherapy be shown. These results support the indication of a course of immunotherapy with thymopentin in combination with chemotherapy, especially in advanced cancer patients.