Treatment of metastatic colorectal carcinoma with lymphoblastoid interferon and 5-fluorouracil: data of a phase II study.
Many clinical trials have tested the combination of 5-fluorouracil and recombinant alpha-interferons in metastatic colorectal carcinoma. The efficacy of 5-fluorouracil and lymphoblastoid interferon was evaluated in a phase II study in which 31 patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma were enrolled. 5-Fluorouracil was administered at the dose of 600 mg/sqm bolus weekly and lymphoblastoid interferon was given intramuscularly at 3 million units every two days. All patients were evaluable for toxicity. Thirty patients were available for response: no complete response was recorded, three patients reached a partial response (10%), three a minor response (10%) and 18 progressed (59.4%). Overall median survival was 8 months. No grade IV toxicity was observed: in 2 patients grade III occurred and in 8 patients grade III fever and fatigue attributable to interferon developed. It appears that this combination does not yield better results than 5-fluorouracil alone.
Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy.
M C
MC
Barzacchi
M T
MT
Nobile
O
O
Sanguineti
M R
MR
Sertoli
S
S
Chiara
L
L
Repetto
G
G
Forno
A
A
Lavarello
R
R
Rosso
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D016898:Interferon-alpha; D005472:Fluorouracil