Interferon gamma-1b compared with placebo in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma

Interferon gamma-1b does not appear to improve the prognosis of patients with a type of kidney cancer called renal-cell carcinoma. Researchers gave 181 patients with renal-cell carcinoma weekly injections of interferon gamma-1b or a placebo. All the patients had metastatic cancer and the primary tumor had been treated. Only 4.4% of those receiving interferon gamma-1b responded, compared to a 6.6% response rate in those receiving a placebo. Interferon gamma-1b did not reduce disease progression or improve survival rates.