Immunobiological and experimental aspects of malignant astrocytoma: a review.

Immunotherapy may represent an available method in addition to the traditional therapeutic approaches. Starting from 1991, we set up a cellular model of lymphocytes obtained from peripheral blood of healthy patients treated with interleukin-2 (IL-2) in order to study the role of IL-2 in regulating lymphocytes activation. The lymphocytes responding to IL-2 treatment, named lymphokineactivated killer (LAK) cells, have a killer non MHC restricted activity, and are able to kill autologous and allogenic glioma cells.