A clinical study assessing the tolerability and biological effects of infliximab, a TNF-α inhibitor, in patients with advanced cancer

Background Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is an important regulator of the chronic inflammation contributing to tumour progression. Infliximab, an anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody was investigated in this trial of patients with advanced cancer. The primary objectives were to determine the safety profile and biological response of infliximab in a cancer population. Clinical response was a secondary objective. Patients and methods Forty-one patients received infliximab at 5 mg/kg (n = 21) or 10 mg/kg (n = 20) i.v. at 0 and 2 weeks and then every 4 weeks. Post-treatment samples were measured for changes in plasma and serum TNF-α, CCL2, IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP). Results Infliximab was well tolerated with no dose-limiting toxic effects. At both doses of infliximab, neutralisation of serum TNF-α was observed after 1 h while plasma CCL2, IL-6 and serum CRP were decreased 24 and 48 h following infliximab administration. Seven patients experienced disease stablisation (range 10–50+ weeks). There was no evidence of disease acceleration in any patient. Conclusions Infliximab treatment was safe and well tolerated in patients with advanced cancer. There was evidence of biological activity with baseline TNF-α and CCL2 being correlated with infliximab response.