Objective: To identify the efficacy and toxicity of recombinant interferon alpha-2b in the treatment of advanced malignancis.
Methods: Interferon alpha-2b was administered intra-muscularly, the escalating dosage being 3 x 10(6) IU, twice in the first week, 6 x 10(6) IU twice in the second week and thereafter 9 x 10(6) IU twice weekly until the 8th week.
Results: Among 102 patients, 90 were eva luable. The overall response rate (RR) was 16.7%. The RR in patients with renal cell careinoma was 10.8% (4/37, with 2 complete and 2 partial responses), that in patients with malignant melanoma was 14.3% (4/28, 4 partial responses), it was 50% (4/8, 4 partial responses) in malignant lymphoma and 20% (3/15, 3 partial responses) in breast cancer. The median response duration was 40 months in the patients with complete response, while only 4.8 months in patients with partial response. The major adverse reactions were flu-like syndrome, while gastro-intestinal reactions and bone marrow suppression were mild.
Conclusion: Recombinant interferon alpha-2b has antitumor activity in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma and malignant lymphoma. It could be considered as a second line treatment regimen.