THE FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE INDUCTOR OF ENDOGENOUS INTERFERONS FOR THE RADIOTHERAPY OF OROPHARYNGEAL CANCER

Abstract

Background: in recent years, human papillomavirus (HPV) becomes increasingly important to the pathogenesis of oropharyngeal cancer. As a result, the prognosis and treatment for this disorder radically changes since the efficacy of selective anti-HPV medications is unknown. Aim: to assess the therapeutic potentiality of Allokin-alpha® for the radiotherapy of HPV-positive patients with oropharyngeal cancer. Patients and Methods: 40 patients with oropharyngeal cancer stage III-IV (study group: 19 patients; control group: 21 patients) underwent 3D conformal radiotherapy using 6 MeV linear particle accelerator (standard radiation exposure). In the study group, 1.0 mg of Allokin-alpha® was administered subcutaneously every other day including radiation-free days (excepting scheduled treatment breaks). In total, 24.0±2.0 mg of Allokin-alpha® were administered for two split-course radiotherapies. Results: after the first course of radiotherapy, pain resolution was reported in 59.7% of study group patients vs. 23.8% of control group patients, the resolution of foreign body sensation in the throat in 36.8% vs. 19%, and the resolution of weakness, sub-febrile temperature, and bad breath in 58.4% vs. 28.6%. The total controlled effect was achieved in 94.7% of study group patients vs. 71.4% of control group patients (р<0.05), i.e., tumor resorption was observed in 68.4% vs. 42.9% and lymph node metastasis regression in 47.3% vs. 9.6% (p<0.05). After the first course of radiotherapy, pellicle epithelitis was less common in the study group compared to the control group (28.5% vs. 5.3%, р<0.05). Conclusions: preliminary clinical data demonstrate the utility of Allokin-alpha® administering during the radiotherapy of oropharyngeal cancer. Further studies on the potential radioprotective properties of Allokin-alpha® are required to address the possible deintensification of radiation exposure.