RENAL-CELL CARCINOMA WITH SUBCUTANEOUS IN JECTIONS OF INTERLEUKIN-2 AND INTERFERON-ALPHA

Twenty-three patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma were treated with subcutaneous injections of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-al pha (IFN-a). IFN-alpha (5 . 10(6) U/m(2)) was injected on day 1 of the 1st week of a treatment cycle of 6 weeks and high doses of IL-2 (20 . 10(6) IU/m(2)) on days 3, 4 and 5. In the 2nd and 3rd week IFN-alpha (dose as above) and low doses of IL-2 (5 . 10(6) IU/m(2)) were injecte d on days 1, 3 and 5. The treatment from the 4th to the 6th week corre sponded to that of the 1st to 3rd week. In cases of remission or stabl e disease the treatment schedule was repeated as a rule once or twice. In 12 of the 23 cases nephrectomy had been carried out previously. Co mplete remission lasting 4+ months and partial remission lasting 2 mon ths were achieved in two patients with lung and skeletal metastases. A stable state of the disease lasting 1-7+ months was observed in 11 ca ses. Ten patients showed progression of the disease after the first tr eatment cycle. Thus, the overall objective response rate was 9%. The s ide effects were only slight and corresponded to WHO toxicity grade I (n = 8) and grade II (n = 15). In two cases the first treatment cycle could not be finished.