title: Neoadjuvant cisplatin and interferon-alpha 2B in the treatment and organ preservation of penile carcinoma.
abstract: We investigated the antitumor activity and toxicity of cisplatin and interferon-alpha 2B as the primary treatment of penile carcinoma. A total of 13 consecutive patients with nonmetastatic, histologically confirmed invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the penis underwent treatment consisting of 20 mg./m.2 cisplatin intravenously and 5 x 10(6) mu./m.2 interferon-alpha 2B subcutaneously daily for 5 consecutive days. An equivalent dose of interferon was then administered subcutaneously every 2 days for 3 weeks and the regimen was repeated at 28-day intervals. Of 12 evaluable patients 9 responded: 4 achieved a pathologically confirmed complete remission of 38+, 21+, 10 and 7 months in duration (2 with relapse were treated with local therapy and remain with no evidence of disease), and 5 achieved a partial response, underwent surgical removal of residual disease and remained disease-free for 14+ to 24+ months. The most significant toxicities were anemia in 5 patients and reversible renal impairment in 3 but no patient had neutropenic fever or required platelet transfusion. We conclude that primary treatment with cisplatin and interferon-alpha 2B induced responses in 75% of 12 patients with penile carcinoma and allowed for a less radical operation than originally scheduled. A larger number of patients and longer followup will be required to confirm these encouraging preliminary results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Laiko General Hospital, Athens Medical School, Greece.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mitropoulos
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dimopoulos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kiroudi-Voulgari
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zervas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dimopoulos
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Logothetis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010412:Penile Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012074:Remission Induction
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D002945:Cisplatin