A Pilot Study of Recombinant Human Interleukin-4 Therapy of Myelofibrosis

Abstract

Twelve patients with myelofibrosis were treated with recombinant human interleukin-4 (IL-4) administered subcutaneously thrice weekly. Dosage ranged from 1 microg/kg to 4 microg/kg. Median patient age was 65 years (range 36-74). Five patients had transient minor responses, and 5 patients had progressive disease. One patient had a transient minor response, rapidly followed by progressive disease. One patient suffered angioneurotic edema with first injection. Other significant toxicities included fever, flu-like symptoms, peripheral edema, and ascites. IL-4 at this schedule was toxic and had no significant activity in myelofibrosis.

Therapeutic exploitation of IPSE, a urogenital parasite‐derived host modulatory protein, for chemotherapy‐induced hemorrhagic cystitis

“…MESNA is used to prevent CHC but fails to treat hemorrhagic cystitis after its onset ( 5 , 66 , 67 ). Other options for managing this debilitating chemotherapy-induced condition, including use of recombinant IL-4 ( 10 ), which has been shown to have a therapeutic effect in experimental models, and surgical solutions are often suboptimal and sometimes lead to other untoward, severe, adverse reactions ( 17 – 28 ). Thus, there is need for novel therapeutic options for hemorrhagic cystitis.…”

“…However, systemic administration of IL-4 is unlikely to be an acceptable prophylactic or therapeutic approach for cyclophosphamide-induced hemorrhagic cystitis and IHC. For instance, clinical trials of systemic administration of IL-4 for cancer therapy have resulted in untoward side effects ( 17 – 28 ). Nevertheless, evidence suggests that IL-4-associated anti-inflammatory pathways and targets thereof are promising therapeutic candidates for hemorrhagic cystitis.…”