RESISTANCE TO COMMON VIRUSES DURING INTRALYMPHATIC INJECTIONS OF TUMOR-CELL VACCINES - CORRELATION WITH CIRCULATING CYTOKINES

Patients with advanced malignancies who received intralymphatic inject ions of irradiated tumor cell suspensions (''vaccines'') were unexpect edly found to be resistant to common viral diseases; 17 patients with a documented past history of viral infections who have been observed f or 48 to 148 months (median 108 months), were analyzed. The resistance to viruses was found to correlate closely with the presence, in the s erum, of certain cytokines. Specifically, the interleukins, -2, -6, -8 and interferon-gamma, at low but sustained levels appeared to be poss ibly responsible for the nonspecific protection against viral infectio ns obtained by intralymphatic injections of cellular material. These f indings suggest that viral infections in normal or immunosuppressed in dividuals at particular risk might be prevented by treatments aimed at attaining very modest levels of certain cytokines.