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Phase I clinical trial of intralesional or intraventricular leukocyte interferon for intracranial malignancies

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Summary

Eight patients were treated with leukocyte interferon for a variety of neurological malignancies that had failed or recurred after conventional therapy. Three patients with malignant astrocytoma received intratumoral interferon in dosages up to 9 million units 3×/ week, with total dosages of up to 160 million units. Interferon was administered intraventricularly in 4 patients with leptomeningeal metastases and one patient with multiple brain metastases. Dosages increased from 1 to 10 million units 3×/ week, and total dosages of up to 113 million units were given intraventricularly. Acute side effects of fever, nausea, vomiting, and headache occurred almost exclusively with intraventricular injections, and these subsided after the initial injection. Fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, and hematologic toxicity developed a few weeks after onset of treatment, independent of the dose given. A modest tumor regression was seen on CT scans of one patient with a malignant astrocytoma, who was treated with interferon for 8 months. In a114 patients with leptomeningeal metastases, the CS F became free of malignant cells for 6 to 10 weeks, while clinical improvement was less dramatic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuro-Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Eugenie AMT Obbens & Lynn G Feun

  2. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Milam E Leavens

  3. Department of Chemotherapy Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Niramol Savaraj

  4. Department of Clinical Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Jordan U Gutterman

  5. Ottawa General Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    David J Stewart

Authors
  1. Eugenie AMT Obbens
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  2. Lynn G Feun
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  3. Milam E Leavens
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  4. Niramol Savaraj
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  5. David J Stewart
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  6. Jordan U Gutterman
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Obbens, E.A., Feun, L.G., Leavens, M.E. et al. Phase I clinical trial of intralesional or intraventricular leukocyte interferon for intracranial malignancies. J Neuro-Oncol 3, 61–67 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165173

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165173

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