Abstract
A phase II, multicenter study was conducted by 34 institutions to evaluate the effectiveness of human fibroblast interferon (IFN) in the treatment of patients with malignant gliomas. The response rates to IFN in glioma patients (evaluable cases, n = 120), were 14.0% for malignant glioma, 24.0% for low-grade astrocytoma, and 19.2% overall. No significant difference was observed between systemic administration and local administration. There were only mild adverse reactions.
A randomized trial of combination therapy conducted by 20 institutions indicated a significant difference in response rate between IFN + radiation therapy (19.6%; n = 51) and IFN + (1,4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl)-methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosourea (ACNU) + radiation therapy (IAR) (41.2%; n = 51). A prospective study on long-term maintenance therapy using IFN after IAR therapy obtained high survival rates. From the point of view of survival, 72 evaluable cases of malignant glioma (41 glioblastoma [GB] and 31 malignant e no significant differences of survival rates of GB and MA when compared with the results of the Brain Tumoastrocytoma [MA]) analyzed in our institution showed a distinct difference in survival rates (P <.001). There werr Registry in Japan, although high response rates were obtained as an effect of postoperative remission induction therapy (24.4% for GB, 45.5% for MA). There was a significant relationship between tumor size reduction effect and survival rate in the second and third years. Specifically, IAR therapy was effective for prolongation of the survival period of GB.
With regard to age of GB, a group younger than 54 years showed longer survival compared with an older age group (>55 years). In a comparison of cases that underwent subtotal resection and those who received biopsy, the former group had a longer mean survival time, although this was not statistically significant. Maintenance therapy is another important factor for long survival in which IFN also seemed to be beneficial.
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Nagai, M., Okuhata, S., Watanabe, K., Narita, Ji., Ochiai, C., Arai, T. (1996). Evaluation of Interferon Therapy on Malignant Gliomas. In: Nagai, M. (eds) Brain Tumor. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-66887-9_36
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-66887-9_36
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