Studies with lymphokine activated killer cells and interleukin 2 administered systemically to patients with cancer have shown that this is an effective modality of therapy for selected malignancies. We wish to extend the initial observations of Rosenberg, et al. by administering this therapy intraperitoneally for patients who had disease limited to the abdominal cavity. So far this has included patients with ovarian cancer and patients with colorectal cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis. All patients are staged carefully to exclude those patients with disease outside of the peritoneal cavity. Patients receive interleukin 2 at a dose of 100,000 units per kilogram every eight hours for three consecutive days prior to undergoing leukapheresis for five consecutive days. The cells collected by leukapheresis each day are sent to the laboratory where they are placed in culture with interleukin 2. After one week of activation in vitro, they are administered intraperiotoneally to patients. Just prior to the installation of the LAK cells, interleukin 2 at a dose of 25,000 unit per kilogram is administered. This same dose of IL 2 is then administered every eight hours as long as the patient tolerates therapy.
