Benefit of interferon-alpha2b in a patient with unresectable hepatoma and chronic infection with hepatitis C virus.

Only in a small proportion of patients is advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) resectable, so the need for effective non-surgical treatments is obvious. We present details of a 72-year-old woman with inoperable HCC and chronic infection with hepatitis C virus, proved by the presence of antibodies directed against hepatitis C virus and positive polymerase chain reaction. The patient was treated with subcutaneous recombinant human interferon-alpha-2b. Within a few weeks, a partial tumour remission, paralleled by a decrease in serum levels of tumour markers and liver enzymes, was observed. In addition, polymerase chain reaction became negative. This observation facilitates the hypothesis that the anti-viral effects of interferon might have been jointly responsible for the anti-tumour activity observed. Interferon-alpha might serve as a treatment option in patients with unresectable hepatoma and chronic active viral hepatitis, but prospective studies are warranted.