Nephrectomy followed by interferon alfa-2b compared with interferon alfa-2b alone for metastatic renal-cell cancer

Robert C. Flanigan, Sydney E. Salmon, Brent A. Blumenstein, Scott I. Bearman, Vivek Roy, Patrick C. McGrath, John R. Caton, Nikhil Munshi, E. David Crawford

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1501 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The value of nephrectomy in metastatic renal-cell cancer has long been debated. Several nonrandomized studies suggest a higher rate of response to systemic therapy and longer survival in patients who have undergone nephrectomy. Methods: We randomly assigned patients with metastatic renal-cell cancer who were acceptable candidates for nephrectomy to undergo radical nephrectomy followed by therapy with interferon alfa-2b or to receive interferon alfa-2b therapy alone. The primary end point was survival, and the secondary end point was a response of the tumor to treatment. Results: The median survival of 120 eligible patients assigned to surgery followed by interferon was 11.1 months, and among the 121 eligible patients assigned to interferon alone it was 8.1 months (P=0.05). The difference in median survival between the two groups was independent of performance status, metastatic site, and the presence or absence of a measurable metastatic lesion. Conclusions: Nephrectomy followed by interferon therapy results in longer survival among patients with metastatic renal-cell cancer than does interferon therapy alone.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1655-1659
Number of pages5
JournalNew England Journal of Medicine
Volume345
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 6 2001

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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