Korean J Urol.
1996 Nov;37(11):1227-1233.
Detection or Interleukin 2 In The Urine of Patients with Superficial Bladder Tumors after Intravesical BCG Therapy
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Urology, Soonchunhyang University Medical College, Chunan, Korea.
Abstract
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Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy is an effective immunotherapy used for the treatment and prophylaxis of superficial bladder cancer. The mechanism through which BCG exerts its antitumor activity is not fully understood. However, several studies suggest that antitumor mechanism of BCG is associated with T-cell mediated immunity and lymphokines. In this report, the detection of IL-2(a lymphokine produced in response to BCG) in urine and serum specimens of patients treated with intravesical BCG is reported. Urine specimens of 10 superficial bladder cancers were obtained prior to BCG instillation, 4, 8, and 24 hours afterwards. Serum specimens of same patients were obtained before and 8 hours after BCG instillation. No change of serum IL-2 before and after BCG instillation were observed. Urinary IL-2 production increased significantly 4 and 8 hours (p<0.05) and decreased 24 hours after BCG instillation. Urinary IL-2 levels 24 hours after BCG instillation were similar to baseline values. Between urinary IL-2 of healthy men and cystitis patients were similar. These results suggest that BCG induce IL-2 production with highest level at 4 hours after BCG instillation and IL_2 might play a important role in antitumor mechanism of BCG. However, further studies are necessary to elucidate the antitumor mechanism of BCG.