Alpha interferon as initial treatment of essential thrombocythemia. Analysis after two years of follow-up.
Tumori
; 81(4): 245-8, 1995.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-8540120
ABSTRACT
AIMS AND BACKGROUND:
Recombinant alpha-interferon has been shown to be effective in essential thrombocythemia and in thrombocytosis associated with other myeloproliferative disorders. PATIENTS ANDMETHODS:
Twenty-five untreated patients were enrolled in our study from May 1989 to April 1992. Recombinant alpha interferon-2b was administered at an initial dose of 2 megaunits (MU)/m2 three times a week at escalating doses to 5 MU/m2 or the maximum tolerated dose. The mean follow-up for patients still in treatment at the time of this report was 35.9 months (range, 24-63).RESULTS:
Fourteen patients (56%) had achieved a complete remission by a mean time of 152 days; 6 patients (24%) had achieved a good partial remission by a mean of 180 days. In addition to the favorable effect on platelet count, a marked improvement in clinical symptoms was observed. Treatment had to be discontinued in 9 patients (36%), 5 for toxicity (3 neurologic, 1 anemia and 1 severe hypertriglyceridemia) at a median of 155 days from the beginning of therapy (range, 30-400). Four patients refused to continue therapy because of low tolerance (flu-like syndrome) at mean of 160 days from the beginning of therapy (range, 34-301).CONCLUSIONS:
In our study, lower doses were administered compared with previous short-time trials. The present data show that interferon is an effective alternative to cytostatic agents in long-term treatment of patients with essential thrombocythemia, even when used at lower dosages.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Trombocitose
/
Interferon-alfa
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Tumori
Ano de publicação:
1995
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália