title: Interferon treatment for Japanese patients with favorable-risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the era of targeted therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Single-agent interferon (IFN) is no longer regarded as a standard option for first-line systemic treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in Western countries. However, some patients with favorable-risk RCC may still achieve complete and long-lasting remission in response to IFN treatment. The present study compared favorable-risk Japanese patients with metastatic RCC Japanese patients who had been treated with IFN or tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy as a first-line systemic therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1995 to 2014, a total of 48 patients with favorable risk as defined by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center criteria who did not receive adjuvant systemic therapy were retrospectively enrolled in this study. We assessed the tumor response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The objective response rate for first-line therapy was 29% in the IFN group and 47% in the TKI group, but this difference did not reach the level of statistical significance. Median OS for IFN and TKI was 71 and 47 months, respectively (p=0.014). Median first-line PFS for IFN and TKI was 20 and 16 months, respectively (no significant difference). First-line IFN therapy did not prove inferior to TKI therapy in terms of OS according to metastatic sites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IFN is associated with a survival benefit in Japanese patients with favorable-risk metastatic RCC in the era of targeted therapy. Further prospective study is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomokazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sazuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nihei
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: Division of Urology, Chiba Cancer Center, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukasawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Urology, Chiba Cancer Center, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komaru
authors.affiliation: Division of Urology, Chiba Cancer Center, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007564:Japan; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000188:drug therapy; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D007372:Interferons; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
keywords: Interferons; Protein-tyrosine kinases; Renal cell carcinoma