Intratumoural and intraventricular human lymphoblastoid alpha interferon (HLBI) for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.

A series of ten patients with glioblastoma multiforme were treated with human lymphoblastoid alpha interferon (HLBI) as a single therapy after partial surgical resection (5 cases) or stereotactic biopsy (5 cases). Treatment consisted of intratumoural administration of HLBI (15 x 16(6) IU) every month (8 cases) or in the continuous intraventricular infusion of HLBI (1.8 x 10(6) IU daily) in 15-day cycles (2 cases) until rapid growing of the tumour and important neurological deterioration. The treatments were well tolerated. As judged from data from control groups, the patients demonstrated no improvement in mean survival time and follow-up CT-scan showed rapid progression of the tumour in all cases.