Progress report on the palliative therapy of 100 patients with neoplastic effusions by intracavitary low-dose interleukin-2

Objective: Several cytokines, particularly IL-2 and interferons, are though t to be effective in the palliative therapy of neoplastic effusions. We rep ort on the activity and toxicity of intracavitary administration of low-dos e IL-2 in a case series of 100 cancer patients with neoplastic effusions. M ethods: One hundred patients with advanced solid tumors and neoplastic effu sions underwent IL-2 intracavitary injection as first-line treatment. The m ost common sites of fluid accumulation were pleura (n = 68), peritoneum (n = 21) and pericardium (n = 11). Breast cancer, lung cancer and mesothelioma were the most frequent neoplasms in our series. One cycle consisted of int racavitary IL-2 at 6,000,000 IU on days 1 and 7. Results: According to Pala dine's criteria, an objective clinical response was achieved in 72% (comple te response in 27% and partial response in 45%), with a median duration of 5 months (range: 1-11 months). The peritoneum was the least responsive site for neoplastic effusion reduction. IL-2 intracavitary injection was well t olerated in all patients; the only toxicity observed was fever > 38 degrees C in 6% of the patients. Conclusion: This study shows that intracavitary in jection of IL-2 represents a feasible, well-tolerated and effective therapy of neoplastic fluid accumulation. Further studies are needed in order to c ompare the effectiveness of intracavitary IL-2 with other standard treatmen ts. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.