Abstract

The effect of a protein-bound polysaccharide (PSK) obtained from cultured mycelia of the Basidiomycetes Coriolus versicolor on activities involved in the host defence mechanism of C57BL/6 mice bearing adenocarcinoma 755 was compared with that of live bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Delayed footpad reaction, the activity of splenic natural killer cells and interferon production induced by concanavalin A in splenic cells of healthy mice were little affected by PSK, but in mice bearing tumours PSK prevented the tumour-induced reduction in these activities. Live BCG augmented these activities in healthy mice but had little effect on the reduction of activities induced by a tumor. The immunosuppressive activity of the serum of tumour-bearing mice was reduced by PSK administration; live BCG did not have this effect. The combined use of live BCG and PSK improved these activities in the host, with synergistic increases in the antitumour effect. These results suggest that the combined use of live BCG and PSK, which have different modes of action, may be useful in the treatment of cancer.