Outpatient experience with moderate dose bolus interleukin-2 in metastatic malignant melanoma and kidney cancer

Twenty patients with either melanoma (7) or kidney cancer (13) were treated with outpatient bolus interleukin (IL)-2 18-22 MIU/m(2) IVPB for 3 consecutive days for 6 consecutive weeks followed by a 2-week rest break (on an 8-week cycle). Patient characteristics included 16 males/4 females, eleven patients had received no prior systemic therapy, median ECOG performance status = 1, and most common disease sites being lung, lymph node, subcutaneous, bone, and liver. Two patients with melanoma (29% response rate) (95% Cl: 8-64%) and two with kidney cancer (15%) (95% Cl: 3-43%) have achieved partial responses. Two minor responses in kidney cancer were also seen. The most common toxicities were nausea, fatigue, rigors, fever, and myalgias/arthralgias. No cardiac events occurred, and no patients required hospitalization due to toxicity. IL-2 at this outpatient dose and schedule is well tolerated and displays some evidence of activity in melanoma and kidney cancer. Larger patient numbers are required to corroborate these response rates and to determine whether complete responses are possible.