title: Antiproliferative effects of natural interferon beta alone and in combination with natural interferon gamma on human breast carcinomas in nude mice.
abstract: Nude mice bearing bilateral xenografts of human breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7 and BT20) were treated with 2 or 45-day cycles of intralesional (i.l.) injections of human natural interferon beta (nIFN-beta) alone or in combination with human natural interferon gamma (nIFN-gamma). The injections were administered to only 1 of the 2 tumors in each animal, thus making it possible to assess at the same time local therapeutic effects in the injected tumors and systemic effects in the contralateral ones. When n-IFN-beta was used as a single agent only mild local antitumor effects and virtually no systemic effects were observed. In contrast, the combined administration of nIFN-beta/nIFN-gamma produced marked antiproliferative effects, presumably as a result of the synergistic action of type I and type II IFNs. These effects ranged from complete regression documented histologically in 2 MCF-7 tumors to varying degrees of growth inhibition with persistence of residual microscopic or grossly detectable tumor. Local effects were more pronounced than systemic effects. The therapeutic efficacy of nIFN-beta proved to be greater than that of recombinant interferon beta (rIFN-beta). In MCF-7 tumors nIFN-beta appeared to be less effective than nIFN-alpha, whereas the opposite was true for BT20 tumors.
authors: Arthur Purdy Stout Laboratory of Surgical Pathology, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Ozzello
authors: D V
authors: DV
authors: Habif
authors: C M
authors: CM
authors: DeRosa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015552:Injections, Intralesional; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I; D007371:Interferon-gamma