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Fischer F 344/CRBL female rats were injected intravenously with 10(6) syngeneic 13,762 adenocarcinoma cells, and daily doses of either 10 micrograms, 100 micrograms or 1 mg Staphylococcus aureus protein A were administered intraperitoneally on days 1 through 11. The animals were sacrificed on day 12, their lungs infused with Bouin's solution, and lung metastases counted. A significant reduction in the number of visible metastatic nodules was observed in the animals given 100 micrograms and 1 mg of Staphylococcus aureus protein A daily.

For 3 years, Protein A of Staphylococcus aureus has been used in cancer treatment, initially because of its potential for removing serum blocking factors in the case of patients with malignancies. Extracorporeal adsorption of plasma over immobilized Protein A has produced beneficial effects on experimental animal cancers and some human tumors. The authors review various aspects of this apparently new form of immunotherapy: the basis of Protein A treatments according to the known effects of Protein A on the immune system; different techniques of plasma adsorption and especially the various Protein A carriers that have been used; the toxic effects which complicated the treatment course in several studies and their mechanisms; treatment results in animal models; and the results of phase I and II trials in patients.