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Recombinant interferon‐α therapy in patients with follicular lymphoma
Author(s) -
Ozer Howard,
Wiernik Peter H.,
Giles Francis,
Tendler Craig
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19980515)82:10<1821::aid-cncr3>3.0.co;2-q
Subject(s) - medicine , follicular lymphoma , chemotherapy , oncology , lymphoma , adverse effect , follicular phase , minimal residual disease , non hodgkin's lymphoma , maintenance therapy , surgery , leukemia
BACKGROUND Advanced stage, follicular, non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has no cure and no single standard of care. Remissions induced by standard chemotherapy regimens generally are not durable and, with the exception of selected patients with limited early stage disease, most patients with follicular NHL eventually die of their disease. Recombinant interferon‐α (rIFN‐α) has demonstrated activity against follicular NHL in clinical trials. METHODS A comprehensive survey of current therapeutic options for follicular NHL patients was conducted with emphasis on the role of rIFN‐α used in conjunction with chemotherapy regimens. RESULTS Phase III studies have demonstrated that rIFN‐α delays disease progression and may improve overall survival when administered either with chemotherapy or as maintenance therapy after induction treatment for follicular lymphoma. Adverse effects from combination or maintenance regimens are not significantly different from those from chemotherapy alone. CONCLUSIONS Recombinant IFN‐α is safe and effective when given in conjunction with standard chemotherapeutic regimens in selected patients with follicular NHL, and may especially benefit patients with minimal residual disease after induction chemotherapy. Cancer 1998;82:1821‐30. © 1998 American Cancer Society.