Induction of melanoma-associated antigen systemic immunity upon intratumoral delivery of interferon-γ retroviral vector in melanoma patients

A total of 17 patients with metastatic melanoma were treated with intratumoral interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) retroviral vector in a phase I clinical trial. A cycle of treatment consisted of five daily injections every 2 weeks. Patients were divided into two treatment arms that involved a single course (one cycle) of treatment (group I; n = 9) and multiple cycles (six cycles) of treatment (group II; n = 8). Patients received intratumoral injections of IFN-gamma (10(7) plaque-forming units/mL administered at 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 mL per cohort of patients). All patients receiving multiple injections either maintained stable disease (n = 5) or achieved a partial or complete response (n = 3) of the injected lesion, whereas in patients receiving a single cycle of treatment, only one of nine patients had a response. Patients were assessed for immunoglobulin G antibody (Ab) responses to the melanoma-associated antigens (MAA) tyrosinase, gp100, TRP-2, and MAGE-A1 by affinity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Anti-MAGE-A1 and tyrosinase Ab were significantly elevated from baseline (day 0) to week 16 during treatment (P =.005; P =.002, respectively) in patients who received multiple injections. Patients undergoing treatment who had a clinical response (stable disease or better) also had significantly more elevated Ab responses to a greater number of MAA (P = .0004). The induction of systemic Ab responses to multiple MAA also correlated with systemic clinical responses. These studies suggest that multiple anti-MAA Ab responses are associated with clinical responses to IFN-gamma retroviral treatment and may be used as surrogate response markers.