Alpha-1-thymosin and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma patients: a preliminary experience.
Hepatogastroenterology
; 45(19): 209-15, 1998.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9496515
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS:
To evaluate the tolerability and therapeutic potential of the immunostimulating adjuvant alpha-1-thymosin in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.METHODOLOGY:
Twelve patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were treated with alpha-1-thymosin (900 micrograms/m2 subcutaneously twice per week for 6 months) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and compared to a historical control group (matched for gender, age, Okuda staging, Child's score, alpha-fetoprotein serum levels and viral infection) treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization alone.RESULTS:
No severe side effects were recorded in the 2 treatment groups. The combination of alpha-1-thymosin plus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization resulted in a longer survival that reached statistical significance 7 months after the end of treatment (p < 0.05). Patients receiving combined treatment demonstrated a significant increase in peripheral blood mononuclear cells expressing CD3 (p < 0.05) and CD8 (p < 0.025) 3 months after beginning treatment. They also had a significant increase (p < 0.05) in CD16+ and CD56+ cells after 1 month, and a slight reduction in mononuclear cells expressing CD25, a marker for cell activation. No alterations in the response to phytohemagglutinin stimulation were seen during the alpha-1-thymosin treatment.CONCLUSIONS:
The absence of toxicity and the favourable effects observed in this open study call for a double blind control study to confirm the efficacy of the combined treatment.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Timosina
/
Adjuvantes Imunológicos
/
Quimioembolização Terapêutica
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Carcinoma Hepatocelular
/
Neoplasias Hepáticas
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Hepatogastroenterology
Ano de publicação:
1998
Tipo de documento:
Article