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May 25, 2005
Inhaled IL-2 Improves Five-Year Survival for Advanced Renal Cancer
Topics: MedicineResearchers at the University of Hamburg Medical School in Germany report that an inhaled form of interleukin-2 was associated with a five-year survival rate of 21% in patients with renal cell carcinoma that had metastasized to the lungs, researchers reported here. In comparison, no patients who were treated with the systemic form of IL-2 in a study used for comparison purposes survived for five years. The results suggest that inhaled IL-2, delivered to the patient through a nebulizer, may be comparable in efficacy to high-dose IV bolus IL-2 therapy, but with less toxicity.
Israeli researchers
recently reported that inhaled IL-2 gave patients with advanced
metastatic renal cell carcinoma an average of 8.7 months of
progression-free survival, although maximum overall survival in that
study was three years. However, Allan J. Pantuck, M.D., a kidney cancer
specialist at UCLA, who was not involved in the study, commented that
the severity of disease of patients in the German trial appears to be
lower than that of patients in the Israeli trial or in earlier trials
of systemic IL-2, making valid comparisons difficult. Additionally, he
offered that patients with renal cell carcinoma that has metastasized
only to the lungs tend to have a better prognosis than those whose
disease has spread to other sites.
Related abstracts:
SU011248,
a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor, shows antitumor activity in
second-line therapy for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma:
Results of a phase 2 trial.
Phase II trial of bevacizumab and erlotinib in patients with metastatic renal carcinoma (RCC).
P53
is an independent predictor of tumor recurrence and progression after
nephrectomy for patients with localized Renal Cell Carcinoma:
Implications for surveillance and adjuvant clinical trials.
Cross posted at NewHopeBlog
Posted by Hyscience at May 25, 2005 4:39 PM
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