The effects of methanol extraction residue of BCG (MER) on patients with advanced lung cancer

21 patients with locally advanced or metastatic lung cancer were divided into 2 groups. One group of 10 patients who were treated by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy served as a control and the other group of 11 patients received, in addition to the conventional treatment, immunotherapy by the methanol extraction residue (MER) of BCG. The immune investigations performed before and after treatment showed a difference between the 2 groups as follows: skin reactivity to PPD became stronger after MER treatment (at 0.05 level). The lymphocyte stimulation index to PPD and Candidine became higher after MER treatment (level 0.02 for PPD and 0.01 for Candidine). There was no difference in the survival between MER treated group and the control. This may be due to the fact that all the patients had a big tumor load. Reports in the literature indicate a direct relationship between immunocompetence and survival in lung cancer. Therefore, an increase of immunocompetence following immunotherapy by MER should be considered as a possible way of improving prognosis in early lung cancer.