[Treatment of metastatic carcinoid tumors with interferon-alpha. Five cases].

OBJECTIVE

Interferon has been proposed in treatment of metastatic carcinoid tumours with varied results.

METHOD

Five patients with metastatic carcinoid tumours were treated for 1 year with rIFN alpha 2b at a dose of 5 MU. three times a week during the first month and 10 MU. three times a week during the following months. Carcinoid syndrome was present in all cases.

RESULTS

Clinical response with improvement of diarrhoea and flushs was obtained in all cases. Urinary excretion of 5 HIAA and blood serotonin were reduced in 2/5 and 4/5 patients respectively. IFN treatment led to a stabilization of the metastatic tumour in all cases. Recurrence of symptoms was observed within three months following the end of the IFN treatment.

CONCLUSION

These findings confirm the contribution of IFN in the treatment of metastatic carcinoid tumours.