Effectiveness of interferon-beta therapy for recurrent glioblastoma: a case report.

Aims And Background: Glioblastoma has a poor prognosis, with few therapeutic options if it recurs. We report a case in which we were able to inhibit the growth of a recurrent glioblastoma by weekly single-dose administration of interferon-beta.

Case Report: A patient with recurrent glioblastoma after radiation and chemotherapy was treated with nimustine and interferon-beta. After 2 cycles of nimustine, the patient's leukocyte, neutrophil, and platelet counts showed grade 4 toxicity according to the National Cancer Institute's Common Toxicity Criteria. The patient was treated with a weekly single dose of interferon-beta at 6 x 10(6) IU. The tumor showed no remarkable changes after 18 months, and the patient's Karnofsky performance status remained at 50%.

Conclusions: The administration of interferon-beta produced long-term control in one case of glioblastoma and may be an effective therapy.