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Interferon β adenoviral gene therapy in a patient with ovarian cancer

Abstract

Background A 47-year-old woman with a history of ovarian cancer and a 6-year disease-free remission presented with dyspnea and increased abdominal girth. The patient was found to have ascites and a large left pleural effusion, both of which contained malignant cells consistent with recurrent ovarian cancer. Her disease progressed despite treatment with chemotherapeutic and hormonal agents. She was then enrolled in a phase I clinical trial of adenoviral-mediated interferon β gene therapy.

Investigations Abdominal and chest CT scans, 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose PET scan, viral cultures, interferon cytokine analysis, immunophenotyping, and tumor cytotoxicity analyses.

Diagnosis Stage IV ovarian cancer with malignant ascites and pleural effusion.

Management Tunneled pleural catheter and intrapleural adenoviral-mediated interferon β gene therapy.

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Figure 1: Evaluation of tumor response to therapy.
Figure 2: Cellular composition of pleural fluid lymphocytes before and after treatment.
Figure 3: Evaluation of tumor-specific cellular immune response to therapy.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant P01 CA 66726.

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Correspondence to Robert H Vonderheide.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Sterman, D., Gillespie, C., Carroll, R. et al. Interferon β adenoviral gene therapy in a patient with ovarian cancer. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 3, 633–639 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncponc0658

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncponc0658

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