Interleukin-2 (IL-2) After Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT):A Pilot Study of Late Administration, 2–3 Months Post ABMT

Association of high-dose radiotherapy ± chemotherapy can cure poor risk hematological neoplasias and solid tumors. This cure is related to the treatment dose effect as well as to the immunological effect (graft versus tumor effect) demonstrated after bone marrow transplant (BMT). Relapses are less frequent after allogeneic BMT than after autologous or syngeneic transplant; they are also less frequent following graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in allogeneic transplantation (graft versus leukemia (GVL) effect). T cell depletion increases the risk of relapses [2]. The use of recombinant interleukine-2 (rIL-2) is under intensive investigation since promising reports have shown high activity in patients with refractory neoplasias [3]. T lymphocytes with antileukemic activity can be expanded from the blood of patients with leukemia [1]. Use of rIL-2 after autologous transplant may enhance immunologic abnormalities already documented e.g., CD4()CD8 inversion, increase in activated T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, and by this way increase antitumoral activated. This study is a phase 1 study to detemine feasability of rIL-2 administration 60-90 days post-autologous BMT.