Urinary interleukins in patients receiving intravesical bacillus calmette-guerin therapy for superficial bladder cancer

✍ Scribed by Jonathan D. Fleischmann; Zahra Toossi; Jerrold J. Ellner; Deborah B. Wentworth; Timothy L. Ratliff; Anthony L. Imbembo

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 668 KB
• Volume: 64
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(19891001)64:7<1447::aid-cncr2820640715>3.0.co;2-y

✦ Synopsis

Intravesical administration of

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) causes a localized cell-mediated immune response. The intensity of this inflammatory response may be gauged by measuring the levels of both interleukin-2 (IL-2) and an inhibitor of interleukin-2 (IL-2-IN) activity in the urine during the hours after a BCG instillation. The levels of urinary IL-2 and IL-2-IN in the sixth week of BCG therapy predicted the subsequent clinical course in a group of 25 patients (P < 0.01). Measurement of urinary IL-2 and IL-2-IN activity may be used to identify accurately those patients likely to develop a tumor recurrence, thereby sparing them the risk associated with inadequately treated bladder cancer. Since IL-2 and IL-2-IN are competitive with respect to biologic activity, and since relatively high urinary levels of either IL-2 or IL-2-IN activity correlated with a favorable clinical course, the authors conclude that the presence of bioactive IL-2 in urine is not required for the prevention of recurrent superficial bladder cancer.