International Journal of Cell Cloning, Vol 3, 188-198, Copyright © 1985 by AlphaMed Press
In vitro phase II trial of recombinant interferon alpha-2 in gastrointestinal cancer
W Scheithauer, EM Temsch, K Schieder, H Funovics, R Schiessel and G Grabner
The antitumor effects of recombinant interferon alpha-2 (rIF) on clonogenic
tumor cells were investigated in 29 cases of gastrointestinal cancer. An in
vitro response (greater than or equal to 50% inhibition of tumor
colony-forming units) was observed in 17% of the tumors, including 2 of 8
pancreatic, 2 of 6 gastric, and 1 of 10 colon cancer specimens. The
relative efficacy of rIF in tissue cultures of pancreatic and gastric
tumors was further substantiated by the resistance against simultaneously
tested single conventional cytostatic drugs. Preliminary results of
comparative studies of cloned interferon alpha-2 and human purified
leukocyte interferon (hlIF) in 2 human colon cancer cell lines and 11 fresh
tumor specimens suggest similar trends in terms of colony inhibition in
individual assays. However, the interpatient differences indicate an
overall superiority of the natural preparation (P less than 0.02).
