scholarly journals Interleukin-2 in the treatment of unresectable or metastatic renal cell cancer: a systematic review and practice guideline

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastien Hotte ◽  
Tricia Waldron ◽  
Christina Canil ◽  
Eric Winquist

Objective: We performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the efficacy of interleukin-2 (IL-2) for the treatment of patientswith unresectable or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC).Methods: We searched the literature to identify RCTs or meta-analyses of RCTscomparing treatment regimens with IL-2 to those without. Outcomes of interestincluded overall or progression-free survival, response rate, toxicity andquality of life.Results: We identified 36 RCTs, and 6 met the eligibility criteria (1098 patients).We studied IL-2 alone and in combination with other agents, including interferon-alpha (IFN-a), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and 13-cis-retinoic acid or tamoxifen.No trials comparing high-dose IL-2 to non-IL-2 regimens were identified.A meta-analysis of 1-year mortality data from the 6 trials did not show a differencebetween IL-2-based regimens and non-IL-2 controls. Two of the 6trials detected statistically significant longer survival with IL-2 combinedwith IFN-a and 5-FU. Of the 4 trials that assessed progression-free survival, 3 reported significantly longer progression-free intervals with IL-2-based regimens.Five trials reported response rates; pooling the rates from these trialsgave an overall weighted response rate of 13.3% (range 9%–39%) and 5.3%(range 0%–20%) for IL-2-containing regimens and non-IL-2 regimens, respectively.IL-2-based regimens were more toxic than were non-IL-2 controls;the most frequently reported grade 3–4 toxicities were hypotension (range6%–68%), fever (2%–56%), nausea or vomiting or both (6%–34%), diarrhea(1%–28%) and cardiac toxicity (11%–25%). None of the trials reported healthrelatedquality-of-life data.Conclusion: Non-high-dose IL-2 containing regimens do not provide superiortreatment efficacy over non-IL-2-based regimens, with added toxicity, and thereforeshould not be used as standard treatment for patients with unresectableor metastatic RCC. High-dose IL-2 should only be used by experienced physiciansin the context of a clinical trial or investigative setting.

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 888-892
Author(s):  
Joseph I Clark ◽  
Brendan Curti ◽  
Elizabeth J Davis ◽  
Howard Kaufman ◽  
Asim Amin ◽  
...  

High-dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) was approved in the 1990s after demonstrating durable complete responses (CRs) in some patients with metastatic melanoma (mM) and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Patients who achieve this level of disease control have also demonstrated improved survival compared with patients who progress, but limited data are available describing the long-term course. The aim of this study was to better characterize long-term survival following successful HD IL-2 treatment in patients with no subsequent systemic therapy. Eleven HD IL-2 treatment centers identified patients with survival ≥5 years after HD IL-2, with no subsequent systemic therapy. Survival was evaluated from the date of IL-2 treatment to June 2017. Treatment courses consisted of 2 1-week cycles of HD IL-2. Patients were treated with HD IL-2 alone, or HD IL-2 followed by local therapy to achieve maximal response. 100 patients are reported: 54 patients with mM and 46 patients with mRCC. Progression-free survival (PFS) after HD IL-2 ranges from 5+ years to 30+ years, with a median follow-up of 10+ years. 27 mRCC and 32 mM are alive ≥10 years after IL-2. Thus, a small subset of patients with mM and mRCC achieve long-term PFS (≥5 years) after treatment with HD IL-2 as their only systemic therapy. The ability of HD IL-2 therapy to induce prolonged PFS should be a major consideration in studies of new immunotherapy combinations for mM and mRCC.


2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2419-2426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian I. Rini ◽  
Nicholas J. Vogelzang ◽  
Mary C. Dumas ◽  
James L. Wade ◽  
David A. Taber ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: To determine the clinical response rate of the combination of weekly intravenous (IV) gemcitabine with continuous infusion fluorouracil (5-FU) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between June 1998 and February 1999, 41 patients with metastatic RCC were enrolled onto this multi-institutional phase II study of gemcitabine 600 mg/m2 over 30 minutes on days 1, 8, and 15 and 5-FU 150 mg/m2/d via continuous IV infusion through a permanent catheter on days 1 to 21 of a 28-day cycle. Patients had a Cancer and Leukemia Group B performance status of 0 or 1, with a median time since diagnosis of metastatic disease of 10 months (range, 0 to 129 months). Thirty-three patients (80%) had multiple metastatic sites, and 34 patients (83%) had prior chemotherapy or immunotherapy. RESULTS: Of the 39 assessable patients, there were no complete responses but seven partial responses (objective response rate = 17%; 95% confidence interval, 8% to 34%). Five minor responses (25% to 50% decreased tumor size) were also observed. The duration of response for the seven partial responders was 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 14 months. Median progression-free survival for the gemcitabine/5-FU group was 28.7 weeks versus 8 weeks for a similar cohort of patients treated on previous phase II studies at the University of Chicago (P = .008). The regimen was well tolerated, with fatigue, mucositis, nausea/vomiting, and grade 2 hematologic toxicities being most common. CONCLUSION: Weekly gemcitabine with continuous infusion 5-FU is an active combination in patients with metastatic RCC. Therapy was well tolerated and produced an improvement in progression-free survival over historical controls.


1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 2579-2588 ◽  
Author(s):  
U Keilholz ◽  
S H Goey ◽  
C J Punt ◽  
T M Proebstle ◽  
R Salzmann ◽  
...  

PURPOSE The combination of interferon alfa-2a (IFN alpha) and high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) is active in metastatic melanoma. The addition of cisplatin (CDDP) has resulted in response rates greater than 50%. This study was performed to determine whether the addition of CDDP to a cytokine treatment regimen with IFN alpha and high-dose IL-2 influences survival of patients with metastatic melanoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with advanced metastatic melanoma were randomly assigned to receive treatment with IFN alpha 10 x 10(6) U/m2 subcutaneously on days 1 through 5 and a high-dose intravenous decrescendo regimen of IL-2 on days 3 through 8 (18 mIU/ m2/6 hours, 18 mIU/m2/12 hours, 18 mIU/m2/24 hours, and 4.5 mIU/m2/24 hours x 3) without (arm A) or with (arm B) CDDP 100 mg/m2 on day 1. Treatment cycles were repeated every 28 days to a maximum of four cycles. RESULTS One hundred thirty-eight patients with advanced metastatic melanoma, of whom 87% had visceral metastases, were accrued for the trial. Both regimens were feasible in a multicenter setting. The objective response rate was 18% without and 33% with CDDP (P = .04). The progression-free survival was 53 days without and 92 days with CDDP (P = .02, Wilcoxon; P = .09, log-rank). There was no statistically significant difference in survival between treatment arms, with a median overall survival duration for all patients of 9 months. CONCLUSION The addition of CDDP to cytokine treatment with IFN alpha and IL-2 does not influence survival of patients with advanced metastatic melanoma, despite a significant increase in response rate and progression-free survival.


2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1954-1959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly R. Lindsey ◽  
Steven A. Rosenberg ◽  
Richard M. Sherry

PURPOSE: To determine the impact of treatment with successive courses of high-dose bolus interleukin-2 (IL-2) on the incidence of clinical responses in patients with metastatic melanoma or renal cell cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 350 patients with either metastatic melanoma or renal cell cancer who were treated with high-dose bolus IL-2 in the Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, between September 1985 and November 1996 was analyzed, with a median potential follow-up of 7.1 years. All patients were treated with 720,000 IU/kg of IL-2 administered by a 15-minute intravenous infusion every 8 hours for up to 5 days, as clinically tolerated per cycle. Patients were retreated according to clinical response and tolerance to the IL-2 therapy. RESULTS: Of the 149 patients with melanoma, 10 achieved complete responses (CRs) and 13 partial responses (PRs), for an overall response rate of 15.4%. Of the 201 patients with renal cell cancer, 18 achieved CRs and 20 PRs, for an overall response rate of 19.0%. Among responding patients, 21 of 23 with melanoma and 34 of 38 with renal cell cancer developed at least PRs after the first course of IL-2. CONCLUSION: Most patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cell cancer who achieved PRs or CRs to intravenous high-dose bolus IL-2 were identified after the first course of therapy. Those who demonstrated no response after two treatment courses failed to respond to additional IL-2 therapy. Based on this retrospective analysis, we recommend that patients who exhibit objective responses to treatment with high-dose bolus IL-2 receive additional treatment courses until either CR or IL-2 intolerance develops. Patients who do not achieve objective responses after two courses of IL-2 should receive no further treatment with this regimen.


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1011-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saby George ◽  
Roberto Pili ◽  
Michael A. Carducci ◽  
Jenny J. Kim

High-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon were the most commonly administered therapies before the recent introduction of targeted agents, including vascular endothelial growth factor and mammalian target of rapamycin pathway inhibitors. Although the new agents result in a progression-free survival benefit, high-dose IL-2 remains the only agent with proven efficacy in producing durable complete and partial responses in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Furthermore, although the use of single-agent interferon has decreased significantly since the introduction of targeted therapy, it remains in the frontline setting in combination with bevacizumab as a result of 2 large phase III trials. Lastly, improved understanding of immune regulation has led to the advancement of targeted immunotherapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors that have shown promising activity and are moving forward in clinical development. This article focuses on the current status of immunotherapy in the management of metastatic RCC.


Author(s):  
Alessandra Mosca ◽  
Ugo De Giorgi ◽  
Giuseppe Procopio ◽  
Umberto Basso ◽  
Giacomo Cartenì ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Despite the current immunotherapy era, VEGFR inhibitors maintain effectiveness in metastatic renal cell cancer. Real-world data concerning pazopanib are limited. The aim of this study is to add information about efficacy and safety of pazopanib as first-line treatment in metastatic renal cell cancer patients not enrolled into clinical trials. Methods Retrospective analysis (the PAMERIT study) of first-line pazopanib in real-world metastatic renal cell cancer patients among 39 Centers in Italy. Outcomes were progression-free survival, overall survival, objective response rate and treatment-related adverse events. Kaplan–Meier curves, log-rank test and multivariable Cox’s models were used and adjusted for age, histology, previous renal surgery, International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium score and pazopanib initial dose. Results Among 474 patients, 87.3% had clear cell metastatic renal cell cancer histology. Most of them (84.6%) had upfront renal surgery. Median progression-free survival and overall survival were 15.8 and 34.4 months, respectively, significantly correlating with International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium’s good prognosis (P < 0.001), ECOG PS 0 (P < 0.001), age (<75 years, P = 0.005), surgery (P < 0.001) and response to pazopanib (P < 0.001). After 3 months of pazopanib, overall disease control rate have been observed in 76.6% patients. Among International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium’s favorable group patients, 57/121 (47%) showed complete/partial response. No unexpected AEs emerged. Conclusions In this real-world study, metastatic renal cell cancer patients treated with first-line pazopanib reached greater progression-free survival and overall survival than in pivotal studies and had high response rates when belonging to International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium’s favorable group, without new toxicities. Pazopanib has been confirmed a valid first-line option for International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium’s good prognosis metastatic renal cell cancer patients who cannot be submitted to immunotherapy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert O. Dillman ◽  
Neil M. Barth ◽  
Louis A. VanderMolen ◽  
Warren H. Fong ◽  
Khosrow K. Mahdavi ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. S200-S201
Author(s):  
M. Sharma ◽  
M.H. Qazilbash ◽  
C.M. Hosing ◽  
P.F. Thall ◽  
F.L. Mendoza ◽  
...  

1991 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1233-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
R O Dillman ◽  
R K Oldham ◽  
K W Tauer ◽  
D W Orr ◽  
N M Barth ◽  
...  

We conducted a multicenter, phase II trial of continuous-infusion recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells. Patients had advanced cancer, measurable disease, and a good performance level. Treatment included a 5-day continuous infusion of 18 x 10(6) IU/m2/d of rIL-2 followed by 1 day of rest, 4 days of leukapheresis to collect cells for in vitro augmentation of cellular cytotoxicity, and 5 more days of rIL-2 infusion with reinfusion of LAK cells for 3 successive days. Therapy was repeated after 2 weeks. There were 117 patients enrolled: 63% were males, with a median age of 51 years. Eighty-two percent were managed in oncology units, and 18% were in intensive care units. Six patients died within 1 month of initiating therapy. In renal cell carcinoma, the response rate was one of 31 patients (3%), with a median survival of 10.7 months. In melanoma, the response rate was four of 33 patients (12%), with a median survival of 6.1 months. For all other histologies, response rate was three of 53 patients (5%), with a median survival of 7.4 months. All responders were asymptomatic when therapy was initiated. This trial confirms the feasibility of administering continuous rIL-2 and LAK cells outside the intensive care unit environment. Antitumor activity in melanoma was similar to that seen in multicenter trials of bolus rIL-2 and LAK cells. Activity in renal cell cancer was disappointing.


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