The Expression of Interferon Receptor α/β in Human Pancreatic Cancer in Nude Mice is Essential for Tumor Response to Interferon α Treatment

Background. Adjuvant interferon based chemoradiation has rendered promising results against pancreatic cancer. This study evaluated the in vivo effect of interferon alpha on two human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines implanted in nude. Material and Methods. MiaPaCa-2 expressed the interferon alpha/beta receptor and Panc-1 cells did not. Regimen I consisted of intraperitoneal single-agent gemcitabine and Regimen II consisted of IFN-alpha and gemcitabine biweekly for 30 d. Results. Regimen I and II significantly decreased median tumor volume compared with control mice (P < 0.001). However, MiaPaCa-2 showed a more dramatic response to Regimen II compared with Panc-1 implanted mice. MiaPaCa-2 and treated with Regimen II showed less metastasis and less local invasion compared with Panc-1 treated with same regimen. Regimen II was more effective on MiaPaCa-2 compared with Regimen I (P < 0.001). There were no differences between Regimens I and II in the Panc-1 group. Conclusions. Treatment of human pancreatic cancer in nude mice with interferon alpha and gemcitabine was associated with a reduction in tumor volume. This process was more prominent in the cells that express the interferon receptors. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.