ORALLY-ADMINISTERED IFN-ALPHA ACTS ALONE AND IN SYNERGISTIC COMBINATION WITH INTRAPERITONEALLY ADMINISTERED IFN-GAMMA TO EXERT AN ANTITUMOREFFECT AGAINST B16 MELANOMA IN MICE

Administration of interferons (IFN) via the intranasal route recently has been shown to exert an antitumor activity against a variety of tum ors in mice, including B16 melanoma inoculated intravenously. This stu dy confirms the antitumor activity of orally administered IFN-alpha ag ainst B16 melanoma challenge using another route of tumor inoculation, the intraperitoneal route. It further demonstrates that orally admini stered IFN-alpha can synergistically interact with intraperitoneally a dministered IFN-gamma but not with intraperitoneally administered IFN- alpha. The results support the interpretation that the oral route mag provide an effective alternative or supplement to current methods of I FN administration for the control of malignancies.