TEMPORARY REGRESSION OF RECURRENT SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE HEADAND NECK IS ACHIEVED WITH A LOW BUT NOT WITH A HIGH-DOSE OF RECOMBINANT INTERLEUKIN-2 INJECTED PERILYMPHATICALLY

The efficacy of ten daily injections of 500 or 500,000 U of recombinan t interleukin 2 (IL-2) day(-1) given 1.5 cm from the insertion of the sternocleidomastoid muscle on the mastoid was evaluated in 31 patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. No toxic effect s were noted. One complete response (CR) and three partial responses ( PRs) were observed in the 16 patients who received 500 U of IL-2, wher eas the higher dose was not effective. The CR was recorded in one of t he seven patients with a oropharyngeal recurrence. Partial responses w ere obtained in 1/5 patients with hypopharyngeal recurrences, in 1/5 p atients with oral cavity recurrences and 1/7 patients with laryngeal r ecurrences. The duration of the responses was 3-5 months and additiona l courses of ten injections of IL-2 had no further effect.