Treatment of murine EAkR lymphosarcoma by surgery combined with systemic or local active BCG immunotherapy applied repeatedly.

A combined treatment modality imcorporating surgery plus BCG immunotherapy was administered to (C57Bl/6 X DBA/2)F1 mice grafted with EAkR lymphosarcoma. A single preoperative local or postoperative systemic BCG administration cured 20-30% of the animals, but did not prolong the survival time of these groups. Repeated s.c. injections of BCG resulted in a significant increase in survival time compared to the group submitted to surgery alone. In contrast, multiple i.v. injections of BCG before and after surgery were no more effective than surgery alone and were less effective than a single postsurgical i.v. injection in producing cures. We have concluded that for local BCG therapy, multiple injections before and after surgery are more effective than a single injection. However, for systemic therapy, multiple injections are less effective than a single injection applied postoperatively.