Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023418 (leukemia)
 93,477 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The antiviral and antigrowth activity of interferon (IFN) makes this agent a promising approach to cancer therapy. Three tumors that are unusually sensitive to IFN-a are chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in the benign phase, hairy-cell leukemia, and the T-cell lymphomas associated with mycosis fungoides. Studies using partially purified IFN-a or IFN-A2a (Roferon-A) therapy have shown that most patients with benign-phase CML achieve hematologic remission. Furthermore, in some patients, long-term therapy results in hematologic remission and complete suppression of the Philadelphia chromosome. Early intervention, within six months after diagnosis, increases the response rate among CML patients treated with IFN-A2a. IFN-a, IFN-A2a (Roferon-A) and IFN-A2b (Intron A) are remarkably active against hairy-cell leukemia, with similar results achieved in clinical studies. The question of antibody formation in trials of recombinant IFN-a products will be discussed in this paper. Neutralizing antibody development and antibody positivity as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) have been reported with both IFN-A2a and IFN-A2b (Intron A), but the rate reported with IFN-A2b was significantly lower. However, possible differences in the sensitivity of the assays have been mentioned. The effects of differing dosing regimens also were noted. Additional trials conducted by clinical investigators using identical methods will help answer questions arising from these discrepancies and determine the full value of interferon in cancer therapy.
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PMID:The role of interferons in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. 245 80

Patients with follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) respond well to chemotherapy but frequently relapse and progress with conversion to more aggressive histology lymphomas. In a prior Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) trial, oral cyclophosphamide, given as a single agent, was found to be equivalent to a five-drug regimen in remission induction in patients with follicular NHL who had not received prior chemotherapy. Recently, interferon alfa-2b (Intron A; Schering Plough) has been demonstrated to elicit complete or partial responses in up to 50% of patients with nodular NHL who had received prior chemotherapy. In the current CALGB pilot trial, oral cyclophosphamide (100 mg/m2 daily) combined with interferon alfa-2b (2 X 10(6) IU/m2 s.c. on alternate days) is being evaluated, both in previously treated and untreated patients with stage III or IV follicular NHL, for toxicity, safety and efficacy in remission induction. A total of 68 patients have been entered into this study. Four patients are ineligible on pathology review, and 60 have on-study data currently available. Forty-one (60%) had not received prior chemotherapy and 19 (32%) had previously received some form of chemotherapy. Leukopenia was found to be the single, most common toxicity experienced by all patients. Previously untreated patients experienced leukopenia of less than 2,000 WBC/microliter at a significantly higher rate (53% versus 14%) than a similar patient population receiving oral cyclophosphamide as a single agent in the prior CALGB trial. Leukopenia was found to be promptly reversible, however, by dose suspension or adjustment, and other toxicities were demonstrated to be mild and tolerable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Combination trial of subcutaneous interferon alfa-2b and oral cyclophosphamide in favorable histology, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 329 31

Sixty-four patients with hairy-cell leukemia (HCL) (61 had undergone prior splenectomy) were treated with alpha-2 interferon (Intron A, Schering Corp, Kenilworth, NJ) subcutaneously three times per week at a dosage of 2 X 10(6) U/m2. Three patients (5%) demonstrated a complete response (CR) with apparent eradication of hairy cells from the bone marrow, 45 patients (70%) showed a partial response (PR) defined as normalization of all three blood counts associated with decreased involvement in the bone marrow, and nine patients (14%) showed a minor response that included improvement in at least one blood count. Three patients had no response, three patients died before completing 1 month of therapy, and one patient refused further therapy after 1 month of therapy. The median platelet count returned to normal by the second month of treatment. The median hemoglobin returned to greater than 12 mg/dL by the fourth month of treatment, and the median granulocyte count to greater than 1,500/mu by the fifth month of treatment. Bone marrow biopsy analysis during interferon therapy demonstrated a decrease in median hairy-cell index by more than half. Transfusion of both RBCs and platelets were decreased within 4 months of initiating treatment. Serious infections, which averaged four per month in 16 of the 64 patients before interferon therapy, were rarely observed after the first month of treatment. Treatment-induced toxicity was mild, consisting primarily of influenza-like symptoms, fatigue, and minor skin disorders. Alpha-2 interferon therapy is highly effective in reversing the course of progressive HCL and should be considered the treatment of choice for a minimum of 12 months in patients who have progressive disease post-splenectomy.
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PMID:Alpha-2 interferon therapy of hairy-cell leukemia: a multicenter study of 64 patients. 351 80