תרופות ביולוגיות מוסיפות לרעילות

אינטרלאוקין 2, שהינה תרופה ביולוגית, היא התרופה היחידה בעלת יכולת ריפוי של סרטן כליה גרורתי בכ 8% מהחולים. תוצאות דומות גם במלנומה גרורתית. Editorial Nature Clinical Practice Oncology (2007) Sept. 4, 497 Interleukin 2 for patients with renal cancer Steven A Rosenberg Interleukin 2 (IL-2) is the only systemic treatment currently available that is capable of curing patients with metastatic renal cell cancer (RCC). The first indications that IL-2 could mediate objective responses in patients with metastatic RCC were reported in 1985. On the basis of the durability of the complete responses in multiple trials, the FDA approved high-dose IL-2 for the treatment of patients with metastatic RCC in 1992. In the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute, a 20% objective response rate (9% complete AND 11% partial) was seen in 259 consecutive patients with metastatic RCC treated with high-dose IL-2 alone, with only 2 treatment-related deaths. Among the 23 patients showing a complete response, disease recurrence has occurred in only 4 patients; the remaining 19 patients all have ongoing responses of between 2 AND 18 years. These results indicate that over 80% of all patients who obtain a complete response following high-dose IL-2 never experience disease recurrence AND seem to be cured of their disease.