Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol 277, Issue 1 558-574, Copyright © 1976 by New York Academy of Sciences
Transfer factor versus combination chemotherapy: a preliminary report of a randomized postsurgical adjuvant treatment study in osteogenic sarcoma
J. C. Ivins, R. E. Ritts, D. J. Pritchard, G. S. Gilchrist, G. C. Miller and W. F. Taylor
Twenty-six patients with classic osteosarcoma were randomized to receive
either transfer factor or combination chemotherapy. Eight of 14 patients
who received transfer factor converted their skin test markers, evidence of
activity of the transfer factor. Of these eight patients, all are alive;
four are free of disease. Of the 18 patients who received combination
chemotherapy, 14 are alive, 12 of whom are free of disease. The immunologic
test procedures performed sequentially reveal that transfer factor appears
to enhance cell-mediated immunity, but it is evident that in this study, a
control (saline) arm in the protocol could not be included. It is of
interest that the chemotherapy regimen used does not appear to suppress
such activity permanently. The individual test results, however, are not
very helpful for predicting response to treatment. The small numbers of
patients and the short duration of this study, combined with the exclusion
of parosteal osteogenic sarcomas and jaw tumors, do not permit a meaningful
comparison with other published studies.
