Cure of a single established human Hodgkin's tumor growing subcutaneously in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice can be achieved with a complex protocol using two bispecific monoclonal antibodies (Bi-MoAb) directed against the Hodgkin's associated CD30 antigen and the T-cell triggering molecules CD3 and CD28, respectively, together with human T cells prestimulated in vitro with Bi-MoAbs in the presence of CD30+ cells. To adapt this model to the clinical situation, disseminated tumors were established in SCID mice by intravenous injection of 2 x 10(7) cells of the Hodgkin's derived cell line L540CY. Treatment of SCID mice bearing disseminated CD30+ Hodgkin's tumors with the combination of CD3/CD30 and CD28/CD30 Bi-MoAbs and naive (ie, not in vitro prestimulated) human T cells resulted in the cure of all appropriately treated animals. T lymphocytes obtained from patients with advanced stage untreated Hodgkin's disease were as effective as lymphocytes from healthy controls. Treatment was effective even when delayed until 2 weeks after tumor inoculation, and application of Bi- MoAbs into SCID mice with circulating human T cells was as effective as injecting the Bi-MoAbs before the lymphocytes. Treatment results with isolated CD4+ and CD8+ human T cells suggest that both subsets are necessary for the Bi-MoAb mediated cure of xenografted human tumors in vivo. The efficacy and practicability of this preclinical immunotherapy protocol support and form the basis for the clinical evaluation of this approach in patients with Hodgkin's disease resistant to standard therapy.