Biologic Agents for the Management of Hematological Disorders: Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract

Biological materials, either alone or in combination with cancer chemotherapeutic agents, have been used in treatment for almost 20 years. Initially, agents such as BCG, pseudomonas vaccine, and MER were used in the hopes of enhancing normal immunity and retarding the proliferation of neoplastic cells. In addition, it was felt that these agents might enhance the production of normal he-matopoiesis, allowing for early bone marrow recovery and thus enabling increasing doses of chemotherapy to be administered with lower toxicity and a consequent reduction in morbidity and mortality. A number of studies from many institutions using this approach showed a prolongation of complete remission, particularly in leukemia, but there was no clearcut increase in the percentage of patients cured. Additional studies of solid tumors, particularly breast cancer and small-cell carcinoma of the lung, produced similar but less convincing data.