Cyclic interferon gamma treatment of patients with metastatic renal carcinoma

The treatment of metastatic renal carcinoma is still unsatisfactory because of the lack of effective systemic therapy. In 14 patients with metastatic renal carcinoma an attempt was made to influence the course of the disease by administration of recombinant human interferon (rHu-IFN) gamma; 9 patients were evaluated after treatment. There was partial remission in 3 patients, stable disease in 2 and tumour progression in 4. The cyclic application of rHu-IFN at a dose of 0.25 mg/day for 8 days, with treatment-free intervals of 3 to 4 weeks, was tolerated well. Side effects consisted mainly of fever and leucocytopenia. From this small series it seems that cyclic IFN gamma treatment might be helpful in some cases of metastatic renal carcinoma.