| Abstract | The authors determined the safety and efficacy of recombinant high-dose interleukin-2 administration in patients with brain metastases. This retrospective review included 1,069 patients with metastatic melanoma or renal cell carcinoma who received high-dose interleukin-2 alone or in combination with other immunotherapy or chemotherapy from July 1985-July 2000. All patients were evaluated for both toxicity and response. Only the first exposure to interleukin-2 was considered. Parameters evaluated among the groups included toxicity profiles, reasons for stopping treatment, number of interleukin-2 doses per cycle, and response to therapy. Three patient groups were compared. Group I (n = 27) comprised patients with previously treated brain metastases (surgery or radiation), group 2 (n = 37) comprised patients with untreated brain metastases, and group 3 (n = 1,005) comprised patients without brain metastases. For most comparisons between patients with brain metastases and those without, no significant differences were noted in toxicity profiles or reasons for stopping interleukin-2 therapy. Patients with previously treated brain metastases received fewer interleukin-2 doses per cycle (median, 6.5) than patients with previously untreated brain metastases (median, 7.5) or patients without brain metastases (median, 7.5). Patients with previously treated brain metastases demonstrated an 18.5% overall clinical response to interleukin-2 treatment. However, patients with evaluable (previously untreated) brain metastases had an overall 5.6% response rate, which was less than the 19.8% response rate of patients without brain metastases. Two of thirty-six patients with evaluable brain metastases demonstrated objective regression of intracranial and extracranial disease after receiving interleukin-2. Carefully selected patients with brain metastases can safely receive high-dose interleukin-2, and some can experience a response to treatment at intracranial and extracranial disease sites. |
| Authors | Lisa M Guirguis, James C Yang, Donald E White, Seth M Steinberg, David J Liewehr, Steven A Rosenberg, Douglas J Schwartzentruber
(Affiliation: Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.)
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| Journal | Journal of immunotherapy (Hagerstown, Md. : 1997)
(J Immunother)
2002 Jan-Feb
Vol. 25
Issue 1
Pg. 82-7
ISSN: 1524-9557 United States |
| PMID | 11924913
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
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| Chemical References |
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| Topics |
- Adult
- Brain Neoplasms
(secondary, therapy)
- Carcinoma, Renal Cell
(secondary)
- Female
- Humans
- Interleukin-2
(adverse effects, therapeutic use)
- Kidney Neoplasms
(pathology)
- Male
- Melanoma
(secondary, therapy)
- Middle Aged
- Retrospective Studies
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