PROLONGED STABILIZATION OF PROGRESSIVE SQUAMOUS-CELL CANCER OF THE CERVIX WITH INTERFERON-ALPHA AND 13-CIS-RETINOIC ACID - REPORT OF 2 CASES AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Recurrent and metastatic cervical carcinoma has very poor prognosis, m ainly because there is no effective systemic therapy which would incre ase the duration of survival. Biologic agents have recently been found to have activity in cervical carcinoma, The combination of interferon (IFN)-alpha and 13-cis-retinoic acid has additive and synergistic ant itumor activity. Both have antiviral, immunoregulatory and antiangioge nic properties, and are known to modulate malignant cell differentiati on and proliferation. We report two patients with recurrent squamous c ell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix who had small-volume progressive met astatic disease, and were treated with a combination of IFN-alpha and 13-cis-retinoic acid, The first patient had pelvic lymph node metastas es and the other had rung metastases. The previously progressive disea ses remained stable for a prolonged period of time, 3 and 4 years, wit h a good quality of life. These cases suggest the possibility of using IFN-alpha and 13-cis-retinoic acid as a treatment for small-volume re sidual disease or as postinduction therapy in patients at high risk fo r disease recurrence.