Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0015672 (fatigue)
 51,768 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Both interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) have shown modest activity as single-agent therapy in the treatment of malignant melanoma. Several investigators have demonstrated true synergism in vitro of the combination of DFMO and IFN-alpha against human tumor cells, including melanoma. We have investigated this combination in 17 patients with malignant melanoma in a Phase I trial. Patients were treated with 4 or 6 g/m2/day of oral DFMO in 3 divided doses for 11 days, followed by a 3-day rest period. Concomitant administration of 1.5, 3.0, 6.0 or 9.0 x 10(6) U/m2 IFN-alpha intramuscularly was given. The maximum tolerated dose was 4 g/m2/day of DFMO plus 6 x 10(6) U/m2/day of IFN-alpha. Dose-limiting toxicity occurred in 3 of 3 patients receiving 9 x 10(6) U/m2 IFN-alpha and consisted of leukopenia, fatigue, and weight loss. Other toxicities were mild and included reversible hearing loss, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Three responses were seen, including one partial response (PR) of soft tissue metastases, one PR of lung and liver, and one complete response of liver metastases without clearance of carcinomatous meningitis. A Phase II trial has been initiated based on these encouraging results.
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PMID:A phase I trial of recombinant interferon-alpha and alpha-difluoromethylornithine in metastatic melanoma. 313 43

Based upon the in vitro synergistic activity of interferon-beta (IFN-beta) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) observed in melanoma cells, we initiated a Phase II trial using the combination to determine the clinical antitumor efficacy in patients with advanced disease. Fifteen patients with metastatic malignant melanoma were given 2,000 micrograms of recombinant IFN-gamma (rIFN-gamma) (Biogen) intravenously (i.v.) over 10 min, followed by a 10 min i.v. injection of 30 million units of recombinant IFN-beta (rIFN-beta ser) (Triton) 3 x/week. Six patients had skin, soft tissue, nodal, or subcutaneous metastases, 6 had visceral disease only, and 3 had both. Seven patients had received prior treatment, including chemotherapy (6), radiotherapy (3), and/or immunotherapy (3). Side effects included typical IFN constitutional symptoms such as anorexia, fatigue, nausea, and myalgias, but were not dose limiting. The mean drop in the white blood cell count (WBC) following 1 month of therapy, compared to baseline, was 3.3 x 10(3)/mm2 (p = 0.002); the mean increase in SGOT was 24.1 U/l (p less than 0.001). One patient had a dose reduction for Grade III anorexia and fatigue which did not resolve with repeated treatment. One patient with liver metastases had radiographical and clinical stabilization of his disease for 1 year. No responses were seen. The median time to progression was 6 weeks. Two patients' tumors were evaluable in the human tumor colony forming assay (HTCFA) and were markedly sensitive to the antiproliferative effects of IFN combinations. Both patients, however, failed to respond clinically.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Phase II trial of a combination of interferon-beta ser and interferon-gamma in patients with advanced malignant melanoma. 314 69

Several previous studies have demonstrated that both partially purified and recombinant alpha-interferons (alpha-IFNs) have high response rates in advanced hairy cell leukemia. However, the optimal dose and duration of therapy have not yet been defined. In this study, 90 patients were randomized after 12 months of IFN alfa-2b therapy with a standard dose of 2 X 10(6) U/m2 sc three times weekly to either no further therapy or an additional 6 months of therapy (18 mo total). There was no significant difference in the peripheral blood cell counts between the two groups (when analyzed) dating from the end of IFN therapy rather than from the time of randomization. Eighteen evaluable patients relapsed and were re-treated with IFN: 11 in the no-further-therapy group and 7 in the treated group. No patient was resistant to re-treatment with IFN. There was a significantly greater incidence of fatigue in the treated group (44% vs. 21%; P = .02) during the first 6 postrandomization months. We conclude that the duration of IFN therapy does not influence the clinical course after therapy is discontinued, but responses are maintained while patients receive therapy. However, because of a high incidence of fatigue with prolonged therapy and the ability to reinduce a second response, we recommend that IFN therapy be discontinued after 12 months in asymptomatic patients.
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PMID:Randomized study of the duration of treatment with interferon alfa-2B in patients with hairy cell leukemia. 328 78

Studies were initiated to assess the response of patients with disseminated melanoma to recombinant alpha interferon (rIFN-alpha A) and to monitor effects of rIFN-alpha A on several tests of immune function. Twenty patients were treated with rIFN-alpha A given by i.m. injection in escalating doses from 15 to 50 X 10(6) um-2. The responses of two patients were considered unevaluable. Of the remainder there was complete remission of tumour in two and stable disease in two. Subsequent progression of tumour in one of the latter patients coincided with development of antibodies to IFN. Side effects (usually fatigue) were dose rate limiting in 11 patients. Laboratory tests on samples taken 6 hours after rIFN-alpha A indicated a marked lymphopenia and a reduction in natural killer (NK) cell activity particularly against K562 target cells. Longer term changes measured in samples taken 2 days after the previous rIFN-alpha A injections consisted of neutropenia and an increase in the T4/T8 ratio due mainly to a relative increase in OKT4 positive T cells compared to OKT8 positive T cells. NK activity against the K562 target cell increased in most patients during the first week of treatment and then returned to below or near pretreatment levels thereafter against the K562 target cell. This contrasted with NK activity against the melanoma target cell which showed a more gradual increase over the duration of the treatment in 6 patients. The latter correlated with an increase in mitogen stimulated IL 2 production from their blood lymphocytes and may indicate that the cytotoxic activity resulted from lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells. These results confirm the activity of rIFN-alpha A against melanoma in certain patients. They suggest that further studies are needed to select patients who may respond to rIFN-alpha A and to optimize treatment regimens. Tests of IL 2 production and LAK activity may assisted in achieving these objectives.
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PMID:Effects of recombinant leukocyte interferon (rIFN-alpha A) on tumour growth and immune responses in patients with metastatic melanoma. 387 53

Effectiveness of recombinant DNA (rDNA) human interferon alpha 2 (IFN alpha 2) in advanced breast cancer was evaluated in 14 patients who had received prior endocrine and/or cytotoxic therapy. After randomization, 7 patients received IFN alpha 2 two million IU m-2 day-1, s.c., 3 times a week (schedule 1) and 7 patients received 50 million IU m-2 day-1, i.v., for 5 consecutive days, every 3 weeks (schedule 2). Treatment duration was 4-21 weeks in schedule 1 and 6-24 weeks (2-8 courses) in schedule 2. Regressions were not achieved with either schedule. Treatment was associated with significant toxicity and was more severe in schedule 2. Dose limiting toxicities were leukopenia, elevation of liver enzymes, hyperglycemia and fatigue. Serum IFN activity was low or undetectable in patients on schedule 1 and high in patients on schedule 2. At 24 h, serum IFN activity was detectable in only 1/6 patients on schedule 1 as compared to 3/7 patients on schedule 2. IFN neutralizing factors were detected in the serum of only 1 patient prior to treatment but none were detected in any of the patients during or after discontinuation of treatment (4-24 weeks). IFN alpha 2 increased the expression of both HLA class 1 antigens and beta 2 microglobulin in peripheral blood lymphocytes in vivo. This effect was dose related.
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PMID:Recombinant DNA human interferon alpha 2 in advanced breast cancer: a phase 2 trial. 391 78

A total of 11 patients were treated on an escalating, single dose trial of recombinant gamma interferon (rIFN-gamma), 6 patients by the i.m. and 5 patients by the i.v. route of administration. Dose ranges within each individual were from 0.05 mg/m2 of IFN (1 mg greater than or equal to 10 X 10(6) units of IFN) escalating to 10 mg/m2. All dosages were delivered twice weekly and the i.v. dose was infused over 5 min. The most common toxicities encountered included fever, chills, fatigue, anorexia, and granulocytopenia. The influenza-like symptoms were very similar to those encountered with IFN-alpha but were generally less severe. The granulocytopenia was dose-related and transient with recovery generally seen within 48-72 h following administration of rIFN-gamma. Absolute granulocyte counts only rarely dropped below 1000 mm3. Hepatotoxicity was not observed. IFN levels were determined by both a bioassay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. By the i.v. route, the peak level of IFN activity could usually be seen at completion of the infusion with a serum half-life of 30 min. By the i.m. route, the peak level of serum activity was generally detected between 4-8 h with a serum half-life of 4.5 h after the initial elimination phase. Peak IFN levels appeared to correlate with maximum toxicity. One patient with melanoma had a 25% reduction in a cutaneous lesion, but there were no other minimal, partial, or complete responses.
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PMID:A phase I trial of recombinant gamma interferon in patients with cancer. 393 18

Interferons manifest diverse immunomodulatory and antiproliferative characteristics. Since their spectrum of toxicities includes primarily fatigue and anorexia rather than the myelosuppression concomitant with cytotoxic therapies, it is conceptually appealing to combine both modalities. We conducted a phase I trial among 18 patients using the combination of leukocyte A recombinant interferon (IFN-rA) and BCNU. The intramuscular (IM) IFN-rA dose for the initial 12 patients was 12 X 10(6) U/m2 three times a week for an anticipated duration of 12 weeks. Among these patients, we escalated the monthly intravenous (IV) BCNU dose from 50 mg/m2 to 150 mg/m2. Six subsequent patients received IFN-rA 12 X 10(6) U/m2, days 1 to 3, and BCNU 150 mg IV on day 3 of each monthly cycle. Dose-limiting toxicities from both regimens were fatigue and myelosuppression. We recognize the limitation of small sample sizes. Nevertheless, in the absence of a significant number of life-threatening toxicities, it appears that near maximal doses of BCNU and concomitant IFN-rA can be administered with safety in an outpatient setting.
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PMID:Phase I study of recombinant leukocyte A human interferon combined with BCNU in selected patients with advanced cancer. 395 Jun 78

A phase I study with human lymphoblastoid alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) was conducted in 31 patients with malignant tumors. IFN-alpha was administered by intravenous drip infusion, intramuscular injection or local injection. In each patient, the dose was increased in 6 steps from 3 X 10(6) IU/body up to 54 X 10(6) IU/body for the purpose of investigating the safety, optimal regimen, pharmacokinetics and antitumor effect. The following findings were obtained: 1) Fever as a side effect was most frequently (in about 80%) found. However, the temperature did not exceed 40 degrees C in most cases and, on the next day, spontaneously fell to normal. 2) The dose-limiting factors (DLF) may include the subjective symptoms of anorexia, general fatigue and nausea/vomiting and the objective symptom of pancytopenia. 3) The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was estimated to be between 36 X 10(6) and 54 X 10(6) IU/body per dose. 4) As for the route of administration, the intramuscular one was considered most suitable on the basis of the plasma concentration profile of INF-alpha. It was therefore concluded that the drug may be further submitted to a phase II study which is to be conducted with due consideration of its safety.
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PMID:[Phase I study of human lymphoblastoid alpha-interferon on malignant tumor]. 396 61

A clinical Phase I study of recombinant human interferon alpha A (Ro 22-8181) was performed in patients with malignant tumors; twenty of them received an American product and seven others a domestic product. Both products were administered in single intramuscularly injected doses of 18, 36, 50, 75 and 100 X 10(6)U. Main side effects included fever and influenza-like symptoms (headache, chill/shivering, general fatigue, lumbago), and digestive symptoms (anorexia, nausea/vomiting). Numbness of fingers or limbs and somnolence were also observed in higher dose groups, but these symptoms all disappeared on the day of administration or by the 3rd day after administration. Abnormal laboratory findings included leukopenia, granulocytopenia, lymphocytopenia, thrombocytopenia and increased GOT/GPT/LDH, but these returned to normal by the 10th day after administration. The peak blood concentration was correlated with the dose, falling to the base line 72 hr after administration. The American product and the domestic product were nearly comparable in the type and incidence of their side effects, and also produced generally comparable blood concentrations. Furthermore, increased anti-IFN-alpha antibody titer was not observed in any of the patients; and the Prick Test proved negative in all of them. No significant changes were observed in any immunological parameters, either.
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PMID:[Phase I study of recombinant human interferon alpha A (Ro 22-8181) in patients with malignant tumors]. 400 81

Thirty-five eligible patients with disseminated malignant melanoma received intramuscular recombinant leukocyte interferon (IFN-rA), 50 X 10(6) U/m2 three times weekly (TIW) for an intended duration of 12 weeks concomitant with daily oral cimetidine, 1,200 mg/d in four divided doses. For all study participants, the median survival time was six months. Among 21 "good risk" patients (performance score [PS] 0, 1 and no prior chemotherapy), we observed seven partial regressions (33%). Six patients had stability of disease (29%), seven had immediate disease progression, and one discontinued treatment after two doses without tumor evaluation due to side effects. Times to disease progression of five patients with regressions of soft-tissue disease were 2.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.7, and 4.3 months. Two patients had partial regressions of lung nodules for 2.0 and 3.8 months. We observed one regression among 14 "poor risk" patients (PS 2, 3, or prior chemotherapy). A 46-year-old woman with prior treatment had a partial regression of soft-tissue disease for 4.1 months. Four "poor risk" patients achieved disease stability, and nine progressed immediately. Leukopenia (WBC count less than 4,100/microL) affected 21 (66%) of 32 patients with WBC count data. The median count was 3,100/microL; range, 1,300 to 8,400/microL. We detected two cases of mild thrombocytopenia (100,000 and 120,000/microL). Other noteworthy toxicities included moderate-to-severe nausea (34%), anorexia (63%), and fatigue (80%). All patients experienced myalgias. Twenty patients had dosage decreases during the first cycle, and 14 of the 16 patients remaining on study after the first cycle required dosage reductions. The overall response rate is similar to our prior studies with IFN-rA as a single agent using TIW doses of 50 X 10(6) U/m2 and 12 X 10(6) U/m2 among 31 and 30 patients, respectively.
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PMID:Phase II study of recombinant leukocyte A interferon (IFN-rA) plus cimetidine in disseminated malignant melanoma. 402 Apr 8


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