title: Immunotherapy of metastatic kidney cancer.
abstract: From April 1986 to September 2000, 122 MRCC patients were treated by monthly intralymphatic injections (containing a mean of 573 IL-2 U and 26 x 10(6) LAK cells) and i.m. administration of IFN and TF; 71 patients also received a 3-day cycle of monthly IL-2 inhalations with a mean of 998 daily U. MRCC cases not treated by immunotherapy (n = 89) represent our historical controls. Adverse clinical side effects related to treatment were negligible. CR (n = 11) and PR (n = 13) were noticed in 24/122 patients. Of 24 responding patients, 17 resumed progression, whereas 7 remain in remission 11-69 months later. The overall median survival of treated patients (28 months) was 3.5-fold higher than the median survival of historical controls (7.5 months), and a Kaplan-Meier curve showed 25% survival 11 years after the beginning of immunotherapy. Apparently, the addition of IL-2 by inhalation improved survival. The present immunotherapy protocol appears to be efficacious, safe, devoid of adverse side effects, far less costly than others and able to offer a good quality of life to MRCC patients; if confirmed in a multicenter trial, it could set the basis for developing low-dose immunomodulatory treatments.
authors.affiliation: Immunotherapy Module, Operative Unit of Urology, Department of Urology, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via P. Palagi 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy. gpizza@med.unibo.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pizza
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Vinci
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lo Conte
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maver
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dragoni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aiello
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fornarola
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bergami
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Busutti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boriani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palareti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Capanna
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive / Q000009:adverse effects; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013925:Thromboplastin / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D007376:Interleukin-2; D007372:Interferons; D013925:Thromboplastin