TNF AND TPS LEVELS IN FOLLOW-UP OF BCG TREATED BLADDER-CANCER PATIENTS

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and tissue polypeptide specific antigen - epitope M3 (TPS), were monitored in bladder cancer patients who underw ent-trans-urethral resection of tumor and intravesical BCG (Bacillus C almette Guerin)-immunotherapy. The mean TNF level was low before the t reatments and increased-significantly especially after the BCG irrigat ions. There was no specific trend-in the serum TPS levels, and the inc reases in the TPS determinations due to-clinical recurrence were insig nificant as compared to the fluctuations of the-marker. In contast, th e TNF levels decreased in all patients who showed the-recurrence prior to the clinical redetection of the disease. The involvement of-the im munological system in the BCG treated patients seems obvious, although the-underlying mechanism is still obscure. The serum TPS monitoring i n bladder-cancer seems of limited value.