ALLOGENEIC BONE-MARROW TRANSFUSION SUPPRESSES DEVELOPMENT OF LUNG METASTASES IN OSTEOGENIC-SARCOMA PATIENTS AFTER RADICAL SURGERY

On the basis of experimental data obtained in Syrian hamsters, demonst rating the highly efficient suppression of experimental and spontaneou s metastases of highly-metastatic sarcoma cells by the use of allogene ic normal bone-marrow cells (BMC), a clinical protocol for the suppres sion of lung metastases of osteogenic sarcoma was started in 1984 in t he Cancer Research Center, Moscow. From this time onwards, 24 osteogen ic sarcoma patients, at stages 2A and 2B were treated with a combinati on of radical surgery and a single transfusion of normal (non-activate d) allogeneic BMC (blood-group and Rhesus compatible). The first resul ts of this ongoing study are now presented. Metastases appeared in 11 out of the 24 patients, generally very early during the first 3-9 mont hs after treatment and in no case after 2 years. More than 50% of the BMC-treated patients were free of lung metastases after 2 or more year s of observation; 8 out of 15 are still metastasis-free after 3-4 or m ore years of observation following treatment. The differences in the f requency of metastasis and duration of survival without metastasis of treated patients compared with a group of 41 osteogenic sarcoma patien ts at stages 2A and B, treated with radical surgery only (controls) re ached significant levels 12 months after treatment and thereafter. Rap id recovery of NK cytotoxic activity has been observed in nearly all s uccessfully BMC-treated patients. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.