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Summary: Thirty-three patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma were treated with recombinant human interferon gamma (rIFN[gamma]) in two sequential, nonrandomized phase II studies. Fifteen patients received rIFN[gamma] by daily i.m. injection in doses ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 mg/m2, and 18 patients received it by daily continuous i.v. infusion in doses ranging from 0.01 to 0.05 mg/m2. Partial remissions were achieved by one of 14 (7%) evaluable patients in the i.m. study and in one of 16 in the i.v. study (6%). The incidence of clinical toxicity was similar for both studies. Toxicity was severe in patients receiving rIFN[gamma] by the i.m. route at 1.0 mg/m2 and by the i.v. route at 0.05 mg/m2. Toxicity includes constitutional symptoms (fatigue, anorexia, weight loss), leukopenia, abnormalities in liver function tests, and hypertriglyceridemia. At the doses and schedules used, rIFN[gamma] had minimal therapeutic activity as a single agent in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

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