THERAPY OF RENAL-CELL CARCINOMA WITH INTERLEUKIN-2 AND LYMPHOKINE-ACTIVATED KILLER-CELLS - PHASE-II EXPERIENCE WITH A HYBRID BOLUS AND CONTINUOUS INFUSION INTERLEUKIN-2 REGIMEN

Forty-seven patients with metastatic or unresectable renal cell carcinoma were treated with interleukin-2 (IL-2) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK)-cell therapy, using a hybrid IL-2 regimen. IL-2 was administered initially by intravenous bolus (105 U/kg [Cetus Corp, Emeryville, CA] every 8 hours for 3 days) during the priming phase, and subsequently by continuous infusion (3 x 106 U/m2 for 6 days); during this second treatment period, in vitro-generated LAK cells were administered. Despite selection of patients for good performance status (PS) (29, PS 0; 18, PS 1) prior nephrectomy (43 of the 47 patients), and low tumor burden, the response rate was low (two complete [CRs] and two partial responses [PRs], for an overall objective response rate of 9%). Toxicity was comparable to that experienced with the high-dose bolus regimen. These results suggest that the dose and schedule of IL-2 administration may influence the likelihood of response to IL-2 in renal cell carcinoma.