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The effects of administration of phenformin and clofibrate to 32 breast cancer patients who underwent radical mastectomy and suffered from hormonal metabolic disturbances involving a decline in immunologic response were investigated. It was demonstrated that treatment with these drugs during 2--7 months results in an improvement in metabolic parameters and delayed hypersensitivity reaction to DNCB, tuberculin and candidin (75.5% of cases), an increase in T lymphocyte count (56.3%) and an improvement of the reaction of lymphocyte blast transformation (66.6%). The improvement in the immunologic status of the patients persisted for 6--8 weeks after the stoppage of phenformin administration; a gradual decline in immunologic response and return to the original level were recorded 4--6 months after stoppage and phenformin therapy. The effect of clofibrate on metabolic and immunologic parameters did not manifest itself as soon as 6--8 weeks after stoppage. Elimination of metabolic immunodepression, which gradually develops in the course of normal ageing and tumor process, should be the main objective of metabolic immunotherapy. To this end, therapeutic means, other than phenformin and clofibrate, may be used provided they exert the same effects on carbohydrate-fat metabolism. The desirability of study of the effects of a long-term course of drugs of this kind on the therapy of cancer patients is discussed.

Some preliminary results of using phenformin and miscleron in 17 breast cancer patients, previously radically operated upon, have been assessed as being characterized by metabolic disturbances associated with the reduced cell immunity level. The treatment of patients during 15--7 months was shown to result both in the correction of endocrine-metabolic disorders and stimulation of delayed hypersensitivity response, determined by skin tests with dinitro-chlorbenzene, tuberculin and Candida. The necessity to liquidate metabolic metabolic immunodepression with the aim of prophylaxis and treatment of the tuumor process is discussed. Some other routes of metabolic immunotherapy in addition to using phenformin and miscleron are considered. It seems rational to study the effect of a continuous administration of such kind of drugs on the results of treatment of oncological patients.