Dendritic cell therapy in combination with interferon-alpha for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of dendritic cell (DC) therapy in combination with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.


METHODS
Seven patients, with progressive disease following IFN-alpha and interleukin (IL)-2 treatment, were treated with monocyte-derived DC (Mo-DC) and IFN-alpha between February 2004 and September 2006. They received Mo-DC once a week for 5 weeks and then every 2 weeks either intradermally or intratumorally. IFN-alpha (5-6 million U) was subcutaneously administered three times a week. Tumor size was evaluated by computed tomography scans before and after the 5th and 10th DC vaccination. A delayed-type hypersensitivity test was performed after the 4th and 5th DC administration for immunological monitoring.


RESULTS
Five patients had stable disease while the remaining two patients had progressive disease following 4 months of vaccination. In six patients the time to progression was prolonged in comparison with the previous cytokine treatment. Six patients showed delayed-type hypersensitivity after the 4th or 5th immunization. Three patients developed high fever following DC immunization. Treatment was associated with transient flu-like symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that DC therapy combined with IFN-alpha is safe and has the potential for prolonging the time to progression in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.
Tatsugami
Katsunori
K
Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
Eto
Masatoshi
M
Harano
Masahiko
M
Hamaguchi
Masumitsu
M
Miyamoto
Toshihiro
T
Morisaki
Takashi
T
Furue
Masutaka
M
Akashi
Koichi
K
Naito
Seiji
S
D000368:Aged; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D007155:Immunologic Factors; D016898:Interferon-alpha