Multifocal metastases of recurrent renal cell carcinoma successfully treated with a combination of low dose interleukin-2, alpha-interferon and radiotherapy.

A 59-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of left flank pain and a possibility of gross hematuria. Left renal cell carcinoma stage II was diagnosed and radical left nephrectomy was performed. Twenty-two months postoperatively, lung metastases were demonstrated and 6 x 10(6) units of alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) were administered for 9 months, only to keep the sizes of the metastases unchanged. Thirty-four months after the operation, liver metastases and bone metastasis in the left sacroiliac joint were revealed. The combination cytokine therapy was performed with 1.4 x 10(6) U of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and 3 x 10(6) U of IFN-alpha for 16 weeks, and the left sacroiliac joint metastasis was treated with radiation therapy of 4 Gy per day for 7 days. Six months after the 16 weeks of immunotherapy, computed tomography and bone scintigraphy revealed that the metastases of the lung, liver and bone substantially disappeared and this complete response is still kept after 16 months.