Thirteen-year, long-term efficacy of interferon 2α and interleukin 2-based home therapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma

✍ Scribed by Jens Atzpodien; Reinhard Hoffmann; Marcus Franzke; Christian Stief; Thomas Wandert; Martina Reitz

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 98 KB
• Volume: 95
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.10783

✦ Synopsis

Background:

The goal of the current report was to demonstrate the long-term efficacy of outpatient subcutaneous (sc) interferon alpha (ifn-alpha) and sc interleukin 2 (il-2)-based combination regimens in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Methods:

In three consecutive clinical trials, 443 patients received combined sc ifn-alpha and sc il-2 (n = 97 patients); combined sc ifn-alpha, sc il-2, and intravenous (iv) 5-fluorouracil (5-fu) (n = 260 patients); or combined sc ifn-alpha, sc il-2, and iv 5-fu with oral 13cis-retinoic acid (n = 86 patients).

Results:

The median overall survival was 21+ months. the 2-year, 5-year, and 13-year survival rates were calculated at 45.26%, 15.96%, and 8.96%, respectively. the median time to disease progression was 6 months. the 2-year, 5-year, and 13-year progression free survival rates were 17.84%, 9.54%, and 9.20%, respectively.

Conclusions:

The current data suggest that combined outpatient sc ifn-alpha and sc il-2, according to the atzpodien regimen, achieves long-term survival benefits in a subset of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, both with and without 13-cis-retinoic acid and/or 5-fluorouracil.