A MULTISTEP THERAPY WITH SUBCUTANEOUS LOW-DOSE RECOMBINANT INTERLEUKIN-2, 5-FLUOROURACIL AND LEUCOVORIN PROLONGS THE RESPONSE OF METASTATICCOLORECTAL-CANCER PATIENTS - A PILOT-STUDY
A. Nicolini et al., A MULTISTEP THERAPY WITH SUBCUTANEOUS LOW-DOSE RECOMBINANT INTERLEUKIN-2, 5-FLUOROURACIL AND LEUCOVORIN PROLONGS THE RESPONSE OF METASTATICCOLORECTAL-CANCER PATIENTS - A PILOT-STUDY, Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy, 52(7-8), 1998, pp. 311-316
Citations number
20
Categorie Soggetti
Pharmacology & Pharmacy","Medicine, Research & Experimental
Data from 12 metastatic colorectal cancer patients who were submitted
to a pilot study with a multistep subcutaneous (sc) low dose recombina
nt interleukin-2 (rIL-2), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin (LV) ad
ministration were compared with those from 13 historical controls who
were comparable for the major prognostic indices. All 12 patients in t
he pilot study were subjected initially to six to eight courses of 5-F
U-LV by endovenous (ev) bolus consistent with the Machover schedule al
ternating with 6 weeks of rIL-2 cycles. At the progression of metastat
ic disease, the patients were given 500 mg/m(2) per day of 5-FU by con
tinuous infusion (ci) for 5 days every 4 weeks and in case of further
progression, 2 600 mg/m(2) of 5-FU by 24-h ci once a week for 6 weeks.
The control patients were treated with 5-FU-LV by the Machover schedu
le until progression and then observed. As yet, two patients in the pi
lot study and three control patients are currently alive. In the pilot
study, the patients' response rate (CR + PR) and overall response rat
e (CR + PR + SD) were much higher than in the controls (50 vs 23% and
92 vs 54%, respectively). Time duration of response and survival from
primary surgery were more prolonged in the pilot study than in the his
torical control, although not significantly (10.5 vs 6 and 41.5 vs 29
months, respectively). Time from starting therapy to progression and s
urvival from relapse were significantly in favour of the pilot study (
11.5 vs 4 and 31 vs 13.5 months; P < 0.01 and P < 0.05 unpaired t-test
, respectively). Low dose sc rIL-2 cycles were well tolerated and no i
nterruption occurred. In the pilot study sporadic grade 3 toxicity (di
arrhoea or leucopenia) was responsible for the reduction of 5-FU doses
to 80% of the previous infusion, but no treatment was postponed. In c
onclusion, these preliminary data suggest the opportunity to Initiate
large prospective randomized trials using a multistep therapy with rIL
-2, 5-FU ci at conventional and at high dose in metastatic colorectal
cancer. (C) 1998 Elsevier, Paris.