Regression of skin recurrences of breast carcinomas treated with intralesional injections of natural interferons alpha and gamma.

Two groups of patients with disseminated breast carcinomas who had failed radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormonotherapy were treated with natural interferon alpha (nIFN-alpha) alone or in combination with nIFN-gamma delivered in cycles of 10-12 intralesional (i.l.) injections to recurrent and metastatic lesions. In group, I, 16 skin lesions in 12 patients received nIFN-alpha alone resulting in 7 complete regressions verified histologically (CR), 7 partial regressions (PR), and no regressions (NR) in 2. Group II included 4 patients in whom 7 cutaneous recurrences were treated with nIFN-alpha/nIFN-gamma (5 CR, 2 PR), 2 were injected with nIFN-alpha alone (1 CR, 1 PR), and 1 received nIFN-gamma alone (PR). Two additional patients in group II were given i.l. injections of nIFN-alpha/nIFN-gamma to lymph node metastases (1 CR, 1 PR). Clinical toxicity was experienced by 5 of 12 patients in group I and by all the patients in group II and was controlled in most instances by antipyretics. Systemic antitumor effects were not appreciable clinically. Nevertheless, noninjected lesions exposed only to systemic levels of IFNs, when studied immunohistochemically, displayed an immunological response similar to that of IFN-injected lesions, although less intense. Therefore, IFNs can be useful in controlling locoregional recurrences of breast cancer even in patients who are not responding to other forms of therapy. Furthermore, in addition to the local antitumor actions, they appear to be capable of eliciting systemic immunological effects.