Safety, feasibility and therapeutic activity of intrapleural autologous lymphocyte conditioned medium followed by systemic recombinant interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha in a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Safety, feasibility and therapeutic activity of intrapleural autologous lymphocyte conditioned medium followed by systemic recombinant interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha in a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma, by S. Duensing, H. Hamm, A. Ganser, et al (Cancer Biotherapy & Radiopharmaceuticals, 1997).

The study

• Authors: S. Duensing, H. Hamm, A. Ganser, J. Atzpodien
• Journal: Cancer Biotherapy & Radiopharmaceuticals
• Published: 1997;12(3):141-2
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This was a case report of one patient in Hannover, Germany: a 59-year-old man who smoked and had a history of pulmonary asbestosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Malignant pleural mesothelioma was confirmed by thoracoscopy in December 1993. From February 1994 he received lymphocyte conditioned medium, a fluid made by culturing his own blood cells. It was given through a pleural catheter daily for four days, followed by a six-week home course of low-dose interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha. Pleurodesis (sealing of the pleural space) was immediately effective, with no recurrence of pleural effusion. Side effects of the local treatment were limited to temporary grade I and II fevers and malaise. The home therapy caused grade III fevers, malaise and shortness of breath. Eighteen months after the local treatment, the patient had no further pleural effusions and stable disease, and vital capacity had risen from 2290 ml to 3000 ml (53% to 71% of predicted). The authors concluded that the treatment was well tolerated and showed anticancer activity. They said prospective clinical studies had begun.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (single patient)
• Who was studied: One 59-year-old male smoker with a history of pulmonary asbestosis and COPD, admitted to Hannover University Medical Center, Germany, in December 1993; malignant pleural mesothelioma confirmed by thoracoscopy in December 1993
• Exposure: The article does not describe asbestos exposure; it studies a treatment. Autologous lymphocyte conditioned medium (culture fluid from the patient's own blood mononuclear cells stimulated with anti-CD3 antibody) was instilled into the pleural space daily for four consecutive days. This was followed by a six-week course of low-dose subcutaneous recombinant interleukin-2 and recombinant interferon-alpha given as home therapy.
• Main results:
  • Pleurodesis was immediately effective, with no recurrence of pleural effusion
  • Side effects of the intrapleural treatment were limited to transient WHO grade I and II fevers and malaise
  • Side effects of the systemic interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha therapy reached WHO grade III, limited to fevers, malaise and dyspnea
  • Eighteen months after the intrapleural treatment, the patient had no further pleural effusions and stable disease on chest x-rays and CT scans
  • The patient's vital capacity increased from 2290 ml to 3000 ml (53% to 71% of the predicted value)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that their results suggest intrapleural lymphocyte conditioned medium followed by systemic interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha is well tolerated and shows antineoplastic activity in malignant pleural mesothelioma. They reported that prospective clinical studies had been initiated.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma.

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• Combined systemic chemoimmunotherapy in advanced diffuse malignant mesothelioma. Report of a phase I-II study of weekly cisplatin/interferon alfa-2a — P. Soulié, P. Ruffié, et al. (1996)
• Intrapleural recombinant IL-2 in passive immunotherapy for malignant pleural effusion — P. Astoul, J.R. Viallat, et al. (1993)
• Weekly systemic combination of cisplatin and interferon alpha 2a in diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma — A. Purohit, L. Moreau, et al. (1998)
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