A recent study, for example, on the effect of post-operative infection on outcome after surgery for osteosarcoma showed that the 10-year survival among those who developed deep tissue infection within one year of surgery was 84.5%, compared to 62.3% in those who did not develop infections (p = 0.017). The implication of postoperative infections for the prognosis of cancer patients has been investigated in numerous comparative studies, some of which demonstrated a better prognosis for patients who had a postoperative infection compared to patients without infections. There have been several more studies on this topic, but the evidence for the effectiveness of this therapeutic approach remains disputed.

Notwithstanding, an analysis of his results with cancer deemed inoperable undertaken in 1994 revealed a remission rate of 64% and a five-year survival rate of 44%, results equal to or better than those with modern therapies.

Unfortunately Coley, a mild mannered and unassuming gentleman, did not adhere to rigorous scientific protocols in his studies and he was marginalized by forceful personalities advocating radiotherapy. Subsequently, an American surgeon, William Coley, developed bacteria-free extracts of streptococci and other bacteria (“Coley toxins”) and reported their successful use in the therapy of cancers, especially sarcomas, between 18. De Morgan wrote, “this is an occasional event which is very important as it encourages us to hope that a cure may yet be found for the disease.” In the light of recent advances in the immunology of cancer the time may well be approaching when an elucidation of the mechanisms underlying this ‘occasional event’ could lead to advances in the prevention and therapy of this widespread disease.Ĭampbell de Morgan’s observation that remissions sometimes occurred after post-operative streptococcal infections inspired some workers to undertake the risky procedure of deliberately inducing erysipelas in cancer patients.

In 1875 Campbell de Morgan, a surgeon at the Middlesex Hospital in London, reported that regressions and remissions of cancers sometimes occurred after post-operative infections, particularly the streptococcal infection erysipelas. If protection is confirmed, the development of novel recombinant vaccines with wider ranges of protection based, most likely, on BCG, YFV or vaccinia, could be attempted. The reviewed findings open a debate as to whether controlled vaccination studies should be conducted in patients and/or regions for whom/where they are needed most urgently. While the evidence of their benefit for prevention of malignancies requires substantiation, the observations that vaccinations with BCG and/or vaccinia early in life improved the outcome of patients after surgical therapy of melanoma are of practical relevance as the survival advantage conferred by prior vaccination is greater than any contemporary adjuvant therapy. It is claimed that, as a result of recent observational studies, measures for prevention of some malignancies such as melanoma and certain forms of leukaemia are already at hand: vaccination with Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) of new-borns and vaccination with the yellow fever 17D (YFV) vaccine of adults. Emphasis is focussed on the Febrile Infections and Melanoma (FEBIM) study on melanoma and on malignancies that seem to be related to an overexpression of human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K). The historical basis and contemporary evidence for the use of immune strategies for prevention of malignancies are reviewed.

Peregrin drake equilibirum