Serum Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated With Interferon Alfa-2b

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Renal cell carcinoma accounts for 2% of all cancers, and the incidence of this cancer is rising ( 1 ). The most effective therapies are based on the administration of biologic response modifiers, such as interleukin 2 or interferon alfa (IFN α) and result in responses in up to 20%-30% of patients with this disease ( 2 , 3 ). Identification of patients with an increased probability of response to such therapy is needed ( 4 , 5 ).

The antitumor effect of IFN α might be based in part on its ability to downregulate (i.e., reduce) the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) messenger RNA and protein, an effect that has been observed in an in vitro study of human carcinoma cells ( 6 ). The effectiveness of IFN α in the treatment of patients with hemangioma ( 7 ) and the changes that occur in the tumor stroma after IFN α treatment of patients with carcinoid tumors ( 8 ) also suggest that this peptide may have an antiangiogenic mode of action.