Clinical trial of Wistar Institute 17-1A monoclonal antibody in patients with advanced gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma: a preliminary report.

Immunotherapy using monoclonal antibody 17-1A has been performed on 22 patients with metastatic gastrointestinal cancer. Criteria for treatment included objective evidence of advanced colon, gastric, or pancreatic cancer (positive CAT scan or x-rays, elevated tumor markers, and/or abnormal liver function tests). The tumor tissue was antigenically positive in all cases. Performance status ranged from 50 to 100%. No adverse reactions were noted. Of the 22 cases treated, 4 (18%) have died, none have rapidly progressive disease, 4 (18%) have slowly progressive disease, 10 (45%) are considered stable with disease, and none are considered partial or complete responses. It is too early to classify the response in 4 cases. In 6 of 8 patients where anti-idiotypic data was available, death or progressive disease was correlated to negative anti-idiotypic response, and clinical stability to a positive anti-idiotypic response. In the patients considered to be stable, the percent change from pre-treatment serum 19-9 concentrations to current values ranged from -10% to +353%. In the patients who have died or have been classified as slowly progressive the serum 19-9 changes ranged from +13% to +707%.