PROGNOSTIC RELEVANCE OF SERUM TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR ΒETA LEVELS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDER INTERFERON THERAPY

Vorontsova A.L., V.Y. Zhilchuk, O. Kliuchivska, R.S. Stojka, Y.Y. Kudryavets

Clinical findings (89 patients) provide evidence showing the relevance of including interferon alpha-2b (IFN) in combined treatment schemes for breast cancer patients. It is established that a long- term IFN therapy in neoadjuvant and adjuvant regimes applied along the proposed schemes helps decrease the occurrence of disease progression over 36 months by 34.4–27.2%, depending on the degree of metastatic involvement of regional lymph nodes (N0–N1-2). On the basis of 6-month (since the beginning of treatment) monitoring of the serum levels of transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) in breast cancer patients, it is concluded that this indicator is relevant. Low serum level of TGFβ are associated with inevitable progression of the disease during 1 to 3 years after the beginning of treatment. And vice versa, high levels of this cytokine are associated with a sustainable remission.