We studied the effects of recombinant alpha 2-b interferon (alpha 2-b IFN) in a dose of 3 x 10(6)U intramuscularly three times a week for 1 year in 13 patients affected by polycythemia vera (PV) previously treated with phlebotomy only. Response to treatment was evaluated by reduction of the number of phlebotomies required to retain normal hematocrit value. Ten out of 13 patients (77%) responded to treatment; in 4 of them the exigency of phlebotomy was completely eliminated. In all responders a concomitant decrease of platelet count and splenomegaly was obtained. Treatment was well tolerated and side effects were easily controlled. We conclude that alpha-IFN may represent an attractive therapeutic option in the management of the proliferative stages of PV.
We report the disease characteristics and therapeutic results for 25 patient suffering from essential thrombocythaemia (ET), treated with recombinant in terferon-alpha-2b (IFN-α2b). ET was diagnosed according to the criteria·the Polycythaemia Vera Study Group. All patients were programmed to re ceive a subcutaneous induction treatment consisting of 3 MU of IFN-α2b daily for 6 months. In responding patients, treatment was continued for a further months with 3 MU of IFN-α2b three times a week. Complete response wa achieved in 13 of 25 patients, partial response in 10 of 25. In 2 cases, therapy wa unsuccessful. Side effects were usually mild, consisting of flu-like symptoms in most cases, and were easily controlled by paracetamol. After a median follow-up of 14 months after discontinuation of the treatment, most patients re tained the therapeutic response in the absence of toxicity.
Forty-five patients suffering from advanced B-CLL were randomized to receive interferon-alpha (IFN alpha) or no treatment after achieving complete remission or partial response, following a chemotherapy protocol called MiNa. The two groups were fully comparable in terms of clinical characteristics and level of response obtained by chemotherapy. IFN alpha was given at a dose of 3 megaunits three times a week intramuscularly for 1 year. The IFN-treated patient group showed a significantly longer duration of response and a less frequent incidence of infections as compared to the no treatment group. A minority of patients who had had partial response to chemotherapy obtained complete remission while on therapy with IFN alpha. Toxicity was mild and patient compliance was excellent. We conclude that IFN alpha may have a role as maintenance therapy in CLL for patients responding to chemotherapy.
The MiNa protocol (vincristine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan, peptichemio, and prednisone) was given to 20 patients with advanced B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Complete remission (absence of all clinical and bone marrow evidence of leukemia) was obtained in 35% of cases; partial response (greater than 50% reduction in organ enlargement and decreasement of lymphocyte count to less than 15(9) X 10/l) was observed in 35% of patients. Of 12 patients (60%) previously treated with chlorambucil and corticosteroids, nine responded to treatment. Toxicity was mild and the relapse rate particularly low. It was concluded that the MiNa protocol represents an effective chemotherapy for advanced and/or progressive CLL.
In a series of 107 patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia (AML), blast cells from six patients were found to simultaneously express CD2 and CD7 antigens along with CD13, CD33, and CDw 65 in various combinations. The frequency of the expression of both lymphoid markers recurred with a higher incidence than that anticipated by multiplying single antigens frequency. The clinical and hematologic features from CD2+/CD7 + AML patients were studied as well as compared with those of CD2-/CD7- AML patients observed in the same period. Morphologically, bone marrow smears from the AML hybrid subset showed a preponderant population of agranular blasts along with a minority of typical myeloid cells, characterized by larger amount of cytoplasm and, in three cases, by rare but distinct Auer Rods. In all cases more than 3% of blast cells were positive for myeloperoxidases and all samples were classified as M1 according to FAB classification. Clinically, CD2 + /CD7 + patients presented with a higher incidence of adenopathy and meningeal leukemia than did patients with CD2 + /CD7 - AML and were characterized by poor response to therapy in terms of both achievement and duration of remission. We conclude that simultaneous expression of CD2 and CD7 in AML is a non random event, recurring in more than 5% of cases and is associated with distinct clinical and hematologic features.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.