Relationship Of Causative Factors In Spontaneous Regression Of Cancer To Immunologic Factors Possibly Effective In Cancer

Abstract

The occurrence of spontaneous regression of cancer in humans is discussed, and the literature on cancer immunology is reviewed. A search of the literature from 1900 to 1964 yields 176 cases of spontaneous regression of patients with adenocarcinoma of the kidney, neuroblastoma, malignant melanoma, and choriocarcinoma. There are three examples of regression following blood transfusion, seven following administration of Coley’s toxin, 16 following radiation, and four after an infection or abscess. In 41 patients, regression followed excision of the primary lesion, and in 31, it followed biopsy or partial excision. Ten of the 13 patients with bladder cancer experienced regression when the ureters were transplanted. Spontaneous regression in all cases is assumed to be related to an activation of the immune system. BCG and other bacterial agents are known to stimulate the immune process, and hormone changes may be responsible for some regressions. The study of blocking and unblocking agents appears to be very promising in elaborating the body’s immune response. Further areas deserving study are immunosuppression produced by organ transplantation and by major surgery and the production of active and passive immunization.