Metastatic renal carcinoma comprehensive prognostic system

The purpose of the study was to identify a comprehensive prognostic system of pretreatment clinical parameters in 425 patients (pts) with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma treated with different subcutaneous (s.c.) recombinant cytokine-based home therapies in consecutive trials. Treatment consisted of (A) s.c. interferon-α2a (INF-α), s.c. interleukin-2 (IL-2) (n=102 pts), (B) s.c. IFN-α2a, s.c. IL-2, and i.v. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (n=235 pts) or (C) s.c. IFN-α2a, s.c. IL-2, and i.v. 5-FU combined with p.o. 13-cis-retinoic acid (13cRA) (n=88 pts). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, log-rank statistics, and Cox regression analysis were employed to identify risk factors and to create a multiple risk factor model. The following pretreatment risk factors were identified by univariate analysis: (1) three and more metastatic sites, (2) presence of liver, lymph node or bone metastases, (3) neutrophil count ⩾6500 cells μl−1, (4) serum lactate dehydrogenase level (LDH) ⩾220 U l−1, and (5) serum C-reactive protein level (CRP) ⩾11 mg l−1. Cox regression analysis with forward stepwise variable selection identified neutrophil count as the major prognostic factor (hazard ratio=1.9, P<0.001), while serum levels of LDH and CRP, time between diagnosis of tumour and onset of metastatic disease, number of metastatic sites, and bone metastases were significant but somewhat less important prognostic variables within the multiple risk factor model (hazard ratio ⩽1.5). Patients were assigned to one of the three risk groups according to cumulative risk defined as the sum of simplified risk s.c.ores for six pretreatment variables. Low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients achieved a median overall survival of 32+ months (95% CI 24, 43; 5-year survival of 27%), 18+ months (95% CI 15, 20; 5-year survival of 11%), and 8+ months (95% CI 6, 10; 5-year survival of 5%), respectively. These prognostic categories are helpful both in individual patient care and in the assessment of patients entering prospective clinical trials

Interleukin 10 (IL-10): an immunosuppressive factor and independent predictor in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is an immunosuppressive factor and has been detected in tumour cell cultures of renal cell carcinoma and of malignant melanoma. IL-10 has been described as a cytokine of the Th2 response; it is able to suppress antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and may lead to down-regulation of HLA class I and II molecules on dendritic cells and to anergy of T-lymphocytes. We evaluated pretreatment serum levels of soluble IL-10 and various clinical parameters to determine their prognostic value in 80 advanced renal cell carcinoma patients seen at our institution between May 1990 and April 1996. For statistical evaluation we used both univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. An elevated pretreatment serum level of IL-10 was a statistically independent predictor of unfavourable outcome (P < 0.0028), in addition to the well-known clinical and biochemical risk factors. These data support risk stratification for future therapeutic trials and identify a predictor which needs to be validated in prospective studies and may potentially influence decision making in palliative management of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. These data also suggest a potential role of IL-10 in the development of advanced renal cell carcinoma and in the future design of therapeutic strategies. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Black German identities: validating the multidimensional inventory of black identity

This study examines the reliability and validity of a German version of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI) in a sample of 170 Black Germans. The internal consistencies of all subscales are at least moderate. The factorial structure of the MIBI, as assessed by principal component analysis, corresponds to a high degree to the supposed underlying dimensional structure. Construct validity was examined by analyzing (a) the intercorrelations of the MIBI subscales and (b) the correlations of the subscales with external variables. Predictive validity was assessed by analyzing the correlations of three MIBI subscales with the level of intra-racial contact. All but one prediction concerning the correlations of the subscales could be confirmed, suggesting high validity. No statistically significant negative association was observed between the Black nationalist and assimilationist ideology subscales. This result is discussed as a consequence of the specific social context Black Germans live in and is not considered to lower the MIBI’s validity. Observed differences in mean scores to earlier studies of African American racial identity are also discussed.