TREATMENT OF EQUINE SARCOID WITH AN UNSPECIFIC IMMUNOSTIMULANT - REMARKS ON THE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND THE SPONTANEOUS REGRESSION OF SARCOIDS

20 sarcoid-affected horses from a practice in the northern Jura were u sed in this experiment. The mean age of the 20 horses was 3.9 years at the time of the first observation of sarcoid tumors. On the average, 4.4 tumours were noted per horse. 10 of the horses were treated in a d ouble-blind study with an unspecific immunostimulant (Baypamun P), 10 others received a placebo. One single tumour only was treated per hors e. The injections were given under and around the sarcoid. In eight!,u t of the 20 horses all rumours regressed totally or for more than 50% of their initial size. Five of these had received placebo, three the i mmuno-stimulant. Four animals showed a modest, but measurable reductio n in tumour size (3 immuno-stimulant, 1 placebo) and in the remaining eight horses (4.4) no reduction or even an increase in tumour size was observed. The phenomenon of tumour regression was very probably due t o spontaneous regression and horses which had been observed to develop sarcoid within the last three months had significantly more regressio ns than animals with older tumours (p < 0.05). The halpotype of the eq uine leucocyte antigens was thought to predispose 12 of the 20 horses for the sarcoid. However, the ELA-type did not measurably influence th e phenomenon of tumour regression.