Case Report · Kasuistik

Long-Lasting Remission of Pulmonary Metastases of Renal Cell Cancer under IFN-b Therapy in a Patient with Multiple Sclerosis
A. Flörcken^a; T. Denecke^b; A. Kretzschmar^c; H. Gollasch^c; G. Reich^a; J. Westermann^a,c

^aDepartment of Hematology and Oncology, ^bDepartment of Radiology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, ^cDepartment of Hematology, Oncology and Tumor Immunology, Robert-Rössle-Hospital, HELIOS-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany

Onkologie 2006;29:382-384
(DOI: 10.1159/000094540)

  Summary

Background: Immunomodulary therapy based on interferon (IFN)-a has been shown to be effective in a subset of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). IFN-ß has occasionally been reported to induce remissions in RCC, but is well established in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). There is an ongoing debate whether hyperactivation of the immune system may convey protection against the development of cancer in MS patients. Patients and Methods: A 54-year-old female MS patient underwent tumor nephrectomy for RCC in 1994. 1 year later, several bilateral pulmonary metastases were documented by computed tomography and were histologically confirmed thereafter. Therapy with IFN-ß was started. Results: Soon after initiation of IFN-ß treatment, the patient achieved an almost complete remission which is still ongoing after 10 years of IFN-ß therapy. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the longest remission under IFN-ß treatment ever reported in an RCC patient. We conclude that IFN-ß should be particularly considered as a therapeutic option in the rare occasion of metastatic RCC in patients with MS.

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