[Present situation in self-injection therapy with interferon-alpha for patients with renal cell carcinoma]

Interferon-alpha (IFN alpha) is often used for the treatment of renal cell carcinomas. The injections are frequently self-administered at home. To assess how this therapy was accepted by the patient we sent out a questionnaire. For the past 2 years until March 1993, this therapy was performed in our department on 52 patients, of whom 45 were selected for the study. All patients were informed of their disease and consented to the necessity of this treatment. Thirty-eight patients answered this questionnaire. Almost all patients injected this agent mainly by themselves. These findings suggested that they regarded this therapy as a strategy to be executed by themselves for the treatment of carcinoma. The main toxic symptoms in this therapy were asthenia, fever and loss of appetite. Leukocytopenia occurred in about half of the patients, of whom 1 patient required medication because of a rapid decrease in the white blood cell count shortly after inception of this therapy. The treatment was discontinued in 50% of the patients because of these adverse effects. Systemic toxicity disappeared after cessation of IFN alpha administration. Additionally, over 80% of the patients expressed concern about effectiveness, the duration and high cost of this therapy. The patients had to be repeatedly instructed about the method of disposing used needles and syringes. This study revealed that self injection of IFN alpha, which required strict management particularly at the initiation, can be performed at home. However, countermeasures must be taken against the side actions and an optimum regimen of IFN alpha should be established as soon as possible.