Randomized Clinical Trial of Schizophyllan (SPG) in Inoperable Primary Lung Cancer

Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

A controlled randomized study was designed to evaluate the effect of Schizophyllan (SPG), an immunomodulating 0-1, 3 glucan, in 241 patients with inoperable primary lung cancer.
All patients randomly divided into two groups, the SPG group and the control group, were treated by radiotherapy and/or anticancer chemotherapy. SPG-allocated patients were given 20 mg of SPG intramuscularly twice a week for one to twenty two months.
A significant prolongation of survival time was observed in the SPG group compared with the control group (p<0.01), although there was no significant difference in rates of remission of tumor between the two groups. Moreover, considerable preventive effects of SPG against reduction of host immune responses induced by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy or by the disease were confirmed. Side effects probably attributable to SPG were observed in 9 patients (5.5%).
It is concluded that SPG is a useful drug in the treatment of inoperable primary lung cancer when combined with radiotherapy and/or anticancer chemotherapy.