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Fig. 1 | BMC Cancer

Fig. 1

From: Increased serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor is associated with a worse response of metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma to interferon alpha and sequential VEGF-targeting therapy

Fig. 1

Disease status and the serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R). The serum level of sIL-2R (normal range: 135.0–483.0 U/ml) was measured before cytoreductive nephrectomy (pre-ope) and every 1 to 3 months after nephrectomy (post-ope). A patient with metastatic RCC arising in the right kidney underwent cytoreductive right nephrectomy, and then received adjuvant immunotherapy with IFN-alpha (5 million units intramuscularly twice a week) as first-line therapy for extra-renal disease for 10 months. Both lung metastases (red and blue cycles) and liver metastases (yellow cycles) showed gradual progression during IFN-alpha treatment. When new retroperitoneal lesions (green cycles) appeared and sIL-2R began to increase, the patient received concomitant treatment with IFN-alpha (5 million units intramuscularly twice a week) and low-dose sorafenib (400 mg/day; half of the recommended starting dose of 800 mg/day) for 22 months as second-line therapy. The liver and retroperitoneal metastases gradually became smaller while sIL-2R was stable. After sIL-2R began to rise again and metastatic liver lesions began to enlarge, this patient subsequently received axitinib (recommended starting dose of 10 mg/day) as third-line therapy. The sIL-2R level and liver metastases remained stable for over 10 months, but sIL-2R began to rise rapidly again and the liver lesions rapidly progressed, then after which the patient died

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