[The clinical value of long-term administration of OK-432 in head and neck cancer].

In order to evaluate the clinical effect of longer-term administration of OK-432, 72 cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with stage III and IV were divided into two groups: a shorter-term group (25 cases), given OK-432 for less than 6 months mainly during the period of admission, a longer-term group (47 cases), given OK-432 for more than 6 months not only for the period of admission but also during ambulation. The immunological parameters and the cumulative survival rates were compared between the two groups. In the longer-term group, the absolute number of peripheral lymphocytes was significantly higher and the positive rate of skin reaction with PPD was higher than in the shorter-term group. However there was no difference in the positive rate of skin reaction with Su-PS between the two groups. OKT4/OKT 8 ratio and PHA blastogenic rate were higher, although not to a statistically significant extent, in the longer-term group. The cumulative survival rate was significantly higher up to 12 months (p less than 0.01) and 18 months (p less than 0.05) in the longer-term group than the shorter-term group. These results of the immunological parameters and the cumulative survival rates suggest the clinical efficacy of longer-term administration of OK-432.