OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) on locally advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) after radical nephrectomy in terms of tumor progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
METHODS: 176 cases with locally advanced ccRCC were followed up in West China Hospital from 1999 to 2007. All patients were divided into two groups according to whether treated with IFN-alpha as adjuvant therapy. PFS and OS were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model.
RESULTS: Median follow-up was 48 months, 53 cases of disease progressed, and 37 were dead. Mortality rate within treatment and observed groups were 44.3% and 18.6%, respectively (P < 0.001). There were significant differences between the two groups in PFS [(59.12 +/- 5.04) months vs. (81.42 +/- 5.84) months, P = 0.005] and OS [(74.66 +/- 4.77) months vs. (85.18 +/- 4.92) months, P = 0.031]. Cox regression model demonstrated that IFN-alpha, as adjuvant therapy after surgery, was an independent negative risk factor for the prognosis of locally advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
CONCLUSION: IFN-alpha was ineffective in locally advanced ccRCC after radical nephrectomy in terms of PFS and OS, and there is no evidence that IFN-alpha could be considered as adjuvant therapeutic drug.
Written by:
Xia J, Li X, Chen XQ, Li X, Zeng H, Wei Q, Zhang P, Zhu YC Are you the author?
Department of Pathology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Reference: Sichuan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban. 2012 Jan;43(1):91-4
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22455140
[Article in Chinese]