HAIRY-CELL LEUKEMIA - SPLENECTOMY AFTER ALPHA-INTERFERON THERAPY

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Long term results of interferon treatment in hairy cell leukemia. Italian Cooperative Group of Hairy Cell Leukemia (ICGHCL).

Eighty nine of 104 patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL), enrolled between 1985 and 1987 in a multicenter prospective study on human lymphoblastoid IFN alpha-n1, were evaluable for long-term follow-up. The induction treatment, 3 MU/mq daily for a median of 5.7 months, produced a response of 93\%, complete+partial response (CR+PR) = 80\%, minor (MR) = 13\%. Neither prior splenectomy nor pre-treatment variables were associated with the rate of response to IFN. However maintenance treatment of 3 MU/mq weekly given randomly had a slightly significant effect on failure free survival (FFS). Of the 43 patients who relapsed, 31/36 (86\%) obtained a new response with IFN. No differences in FFS were recorded between first and second response. At the third induction 7/11 patients were treated again with IFN, 4/7 obtaining some response, but the FFS was significantly worse. The overall survival is still 85\%. We conclude that (1) IFN should be used as chronic uninterrupted treatment for HCL, (2) reduced dosage is sufficient to prolong the disease free status and (3) continuous lymphoblastoid IFN administration seems not to be associated with the development of resistance to retreatment

Human lymphoblastoid alpha-interferon for hiary cell leukemia. An update of the italian cooperative group

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Impact of interferon at induction chemotherapy and maintenance treatment for multiple myeloma preliminary results of a multicenter study by the italian non-hodgkin's lymphoma cooperative study group (NHLCSG)

In 1990 the Italian Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Cooperative Study Group (NHLSG) started a multicenter study on the role of interferon (IFN) in multiple myeloma (MM). The schedule of treatment was based on the assumption that melphalan plus prednisone (MP) would be better for good-prognosis patients, whereas poor-prognosis patients would benefit from polychemotherapy. Accordingly, IFN was included randomly for the induction treatment of good-prognosis patients and randomly as maintenance of the response achieved in both groups. Up to now 78 patients of the 124 enrolled have completed the induction treatment and are evaluable for response and response duration. The overall response rate was 59% Sixty-two percent of good-prognosis patients obtained objective response, 9/14 (64% with MP and 9/15 (60% with MP + IFN. Up to now, with a median follow-up of 9 months from the evaluation of response, no difference has been recorded between the maintenance and no maintenance groups on relapse rate, neither in good- nor in poor-prognosis patients. ©1994 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted