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Interferon α therapy for patients with essential thrombocythemia
Author(s) -
Saba Rashid,
Jabbour Elias,
Giles Francis,
Cortes Jorge,
Talpaz Moshe,
O'Brien Susan,
Freireich Emil J.,
GarciaManero Guillermo,
Kantarjian Hagop,
Verstovsek Srdan
Publication year - 2005
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/cncr.21086
Subject(s) - medicine , essential thrombocythemia , surgery , maintenance therapy , gastroenterology , thrombosis , bone marrow , platelet , chemotherapy
BACKGROUND In 1986, a Phase II trial of recombinant interferon‐α (IFN‐α) was initiated as therapy for patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET). METHODS Patients were treated with subcutaneous IFN‐α at a dose of 5 × 10 6 units/m 2 daily. In responding patients, the therapy lasted at least 3 years. RESULTS Twenty‐three patients (14 females and 9 males; median age, 41 years; age range, 20–63 years) with a median platelet count of 1350 × 10 9 /L were treated. After a median follow‐up of 174 months (14.5 years), 15 of 20 evaluable patients (75%) responded, including 14 patients who achieved a complete hematologic response (CHR) (6 of them with bone marrow remission) and 1 patient who demonstrated a partial response. The median time to response was 6 months (range, 0.5–36 months), and the median response duration was 48 months (range, 5–114 months). Seven patients who achieved a CHR and were taken off therapy after they completed 3 years of maintenance therapy sustained their response for a median of 28 months. No symptoms or signs of thrombosis or hemorrhage were observed in responding patients. Eleven of 14 patients (78%) who achieved a CHR developed a recurrence, and 2 of 5 patients with recurrences who were rechallenged with IFN‐α achieved a second response. The treatment was tolerated relatively well. CONCLUSIONS IFN‐α was safe and effective therapy for patients with ET, and the ability of IFN‐α to reverse disease pathology and possibly modify the clinical course of patients with ET warrants its investigation in larger, prospective trials. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.