[Enhancing effects on interferon-gamma production by combination of OK-432 and interferon-alpha in patients with head and neck cancer].

Interferon (IFN)-gamma, though having the same titer as that of IFN-alpha or -beta, is several time more effective against cancer. However, it is impossible to obtain IFN-gamma as a drug at present. OK-432 is known to be an inducer of IFN-gamma, but the titer of IFN-gamma is very low in the blood after injection of OK-432. Therefore, for the purpose of high titer IFN-gamma production, a combination of OK-432 and IFN-alpha was investigated. In 30 patients with head and neck cancer, OK-432 was administered singly or combined with IFN-alpha at intervals of 2 weeks, and the amount of IFN in the blood induced by OK-432 was compared. In the group of cases combined with a high titer of IFN-alpha (5 x 10(6) units or 3 x 10(6) units), enhancement of IFN production induced by OK-432 was noted in 9 out of 20 cases. In the group treated with a low titer of IFN-alpha (7 x 10(3) units), no enhancement effect was seen. IFN induced by OK-432 contained both gamma and alpha types, as did the IFN enhanced by the combination with IFN-alpha.