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Interferon as adjunctive treatment for non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma
S Takahashi1, T Tanigawa, M Imagawa
1Department of Urology, Oita Medical University, Japan.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of recombinant alpha 2b-interferon therapy on natural killer (NK) activity and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) in the peripheral blood in patients with renal cell carcinoma who had undergone radical nephrectomy.
Patients And Methods:
Between January 1988 and June 1989, 20 patients (14 men and six women, mean age 59 years, range 43-80) received interferon (IFN) therapy following radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. Thirteen patients had stage I disease, one had stage II and six had stage III; none had metastases.
Results:
There was a significant increase in NK activity at 5 and 7 months after starting IFN therapy but there was no increase in ADCC.
Conclusions:
Low doses of IFN administered long-term increased NK activity in patients with renal cell carcinoma. This finding should be helpful in designating protocols for randomized studies of post-operative IFN administration as adjuvant therapy.