CURRENT STATUS OF IMMUNOTHERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF MALIGNANT DISEASES

Immunotherapy has evolved considerably since Ehrlich's concept of antigeneicity of tumour cells put forward at the beginning of the century. Whereas unspecific immunostimulatory interventions have yielded inconsistent and partly unreliable data, recently developed recombinant cytokines acting as biological response modifiers have delivered promising results. Such substances have been used as monotherapy, but also in combination with cytostatic drugs. An additional effort should be made to further define the standardization and the indication of the use of a specific cytokine for a specific malignant disorder.