Characterization of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in patients treated with high-dose interleukin-2 for metastatic melanoma or renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To characterize the number and functional status of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in patients with metastatic melanoma (MM) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treated with high-dose bolus interleukin-2 (IL-2).

Patients And Methods: Patients with MM or RCC treated with high-dose bolus IL-2 (600,000 IU/kg every 8 hours) at a single center provided pre- and post-treatment whole blood specimens. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation, separated into cellular subsets, and analyzed by flow cytometry or used for in vitro proliferation assays.

Initial clinical response predicts outcome and is associated with dose schedule in metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma patients treated with high-dose interleukin 2.

Background: High-dose interleukin (IL)-2 is an effective agent for the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. This study evaluated the outcomes of patients receiving two commonly used intravenous IL-2 schedules that have never been directly compared.

Methods: Forty-seven metastatic malignant melanoma and renal cell carcinoma patients were identified from a prospective database who underwent high-dose IL-2 therapy (720,000 or 600,000 IU/kg) during 1999 to 2003.

Adjuvant therapy for malignant melanoma.

Malignant melanoma is increasing in incidence worldwide, and many patients remain at a significant risk of recurrence following surgical resection. Over the past 30 years, interferon-alpha has been the only agent approved for adjuvant therapy of melanoma. This review summarizes the rationale for adjuvant therapy, and discusses the roles of interferon, immunotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy in the adjuvant setting.

Antiemetic studies on the NK1 receptor antagonist aprepitant.

Aprepitant (Emend, Merck Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ), a neurokin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonist, is a first-in-class agent approved for the prevention of acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). It competitively binds to NK1 receptors, blocks the binding of substance P, the natural ligand, and prevents signal transduction.