Superiority of intravesical immunotherapy with Corynebacterium parvum and Allium sativum in control of murine bladder cancer

Intravesical immunotherapy with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), Corynebacterium parvum (CP), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), and an extract of Allium sativum (AS) was studied in mice transplanted intravesically with mouse bladder tumor cells (MBT-2). Female C3H/He mice were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital. Two x 10⁵ MBT-2 cells were delivered into the bladder transurethrally using a small catheter, immediately after the posterior wall of the bladder had been electrocauterized. Bladder tumor became palpable or demonstrable microscopically in two weeks. Immunotherapy with BCG (2 x 10⁶ CFU), CP (250 μg.), KLH (50 μg.), or AS (24 mg.) was administered directly into the bladder via urethral catheter on day 1, day 6, or days 1 and 6. On day 21 the bladders and spleens were excised and weighed, and the bladders were examined macroscopically and microscopically for evidence of tumor. The results of the study showed that two treatments given one and six days after tumor transplant yielded the lowest tumor incidence and that CP and AS appeared equally effective or even slightly more effective than BCG in this model. These results suggest that clinical evaluation of CP or AS may be worthwhile.