Augmentation of immunity of line 10 hepatoma by BCG: comparison of different BCG preparations.

The line 10 hepatoma of strain 2 guinea pigs was used in order to evaluate the adjuvant efficacy of eight Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) suspensions which differed in strain, method of preservation, or dosage. Lyophilized Tice BCG was consistently the most effective preparation. Each strain had adjuvant activity in at least one experiment. The method of preservation of BCG (fresh-frozen vs. lyophilized) did not have a consistent, a predictable influence on adjuvanticity. A ten-fold increase in the dosage of BCG or of the whole vaccine was not supraoptimal.