title: [Significance of interferon alpha therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma. Fukushima Renal Cancer Study Group].
abstract: We ranked prognostic factors to retrospectively evaluate the clinical significance of interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy in patients with Robson stage IVB renal cell carcinoma. A total of 44 Robson stage IVB renal cancer patients were divided into 2 groups, one with more than 6 months administration of IFN-alpha (3-7 times a week: group A) and another without any IFN-alpha administration. The distribution of these 2 groups was not randomized. In addition to IFN-alpha therapy, survival was analyzed with respect to performance status (PS), mass reductive nephrectomy, concomitant use of other cytotoxic therapies, the number of metastatic organs, growth type, site of metastasis and the period of diagnosis, using a multivariate method with Cox proportional hazards regression. The multivariate analysis showed administration of IFN-alpha to be the most significant factor influencing a good prognosis. Improved survival was also significantly correlated with slow growing type and good PS. Among group A, a significant favorable prognosis was obtained in patients with the responses of no change (NC), partial response (PR) and complete remission (CR) 6 months after initiating administration of IFN-alpha, as well as with good PS and a slow growing type carcinoma. We conclude that IFN-alpha therapy might improve the prognosis of patients with Robson stage IVB renal cell carcinoma, especially, in cases when a greater than NC response is obtained after 6 months administration of IFN-alpha.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Urology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ogihara
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aikawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yanagida
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kushida
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiraiwa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumakawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koseki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ichijo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Date
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurosu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noguchi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha