Alternating Immune Therapy in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has a 5-year survival rate of about 10%. To date no standard therapy has been established for metastatic RCC. One treatment approach uses different kinds of recombinant human cytokines as single agents or in combinations. We studied the case of a 58-year-old female who developed liver lung metastases 4 years after nephrectomy had been performed due to RCC. Methods: We administered an alternating combination of recombinant interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha)/interleukin-2 (IL-2) respectively interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). All substances were applied subcutaneously. Results: Under this therapeutical regimen the patient achieved phases of stable disease clinical improvement. After 5 years of treatment thoracal CT shows no sign of pulmonary metastasis. The patient is still alive with a recent Karnofsky performance status of 70%. Systemic toxicity was manageable on a routine medical ward. Conclusion: An alternating immunotherapy with cytokines could be a treatment possibility in patients with metastatic RCC especially in case of pulmonary metastasis.