Immunological Findings in Patients with Superficial Bladder Cancer during Human Alpha-2-Interferon Treatment

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Abstract
6 patients with recurrent high grade superficial bladder cancer were treated with human recombinant alpha-2-Interferon (Α2-IFN). After initial transurethral electroresection of macroscopically visible tumor, human recombinant Α2-IFN was administered by daily intramuscular injections for a period of 6 weeks. The influence of IFN on the patients’ immune reactivity was assessed by determination of the natural killer (NK) cell activity. Within the first week, in all the patients an increase of the NK cell activity was noted. This, however, was only a short-term effect. An increase of the IFN dosage did not lead to further NK cell stimulation. Determination of the IFN serum levels during IFN treatment revealed maximum levels of 260 IU/ml. They were measured 2 weeks after therapy begin. During treatment no further increase of IFN serum levels were found. The augmentation of the NK cell activity does not seem to depend on IFN serum levels. The amount of IFN found in patients’ sera did not effect tumor cell growth in vitro.

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