Effect of different doses of BCG on an allogeneic cell-mediated antitumor response in mice.

The effect of BCG on the development of cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) in the spleens of allogeneic tumor-bearing (C57BL/6 X A)F1 mice was studied. BCG-treated tumor-bearing animals elicited a stronger CMC response than did the untreated tumor-bearing animals. Furthermore, the degree of activation was dependent on different doses of BCG, so that if the BCG was administered at doses above or below the optimum dose, a less marked stimulation of the CMC resulted. The combination of BCG given before the tumor implant plus an intratumor inoculation resulted in a significantly higher CMC than did either treatment alone.