Potential for interferon-alpha-based therapy in mesothelioma: assessment in a murine model

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive tumor, usually induced by asbestos exposure, that has a poor prognosis and is unresponsive to conventional therapy. The present study was aimed at assessing the potential for interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha)-based therapies in a murine model for malignant mesothelioma. The effect of recombinant human IFN-alpha B/D on tumor growth, alone and in combination with either of two immunomodulatory and antiproliferative agents beta-carotene or alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), was assessed. The data suggest that IFN-alpha treatment is most efficacious when commenced early in tumor development. Combination of IFN-alpha with either DFMO or dietary beta-carotene supplementation improved the effect of an otherwise suboptimal IFN-alpha therapy regimen. Both IFN-alpha and beta-carotene had in vivo stimulatory effects on immune cells, perhaps indirectly by inhibiting TGF-beta generation. The immunomodulatory effects may contribute, at least in part, to the positive antitumor and clinical activities of the treatments in this model.