Peginterferon alfa-2a: A review of approved and investigational uses

Interferon-α in acute myeloid leukemia: an old drug revisited

“…61 Modified, long-acting IFN preparations can improve the toxicity profile of IFN-a. 9,92 This further underscores why this cytokine may represent a clinically viable therapeutic option, especially for elderly AML patients who are often deemed unfit for aggressive polychemotherapy.…”

Changes in serum tryptophan during antiviral therapy with recombinant α-interferon in chronic hepatitis C

“…The current standard therapy for the treatment of chronic HCV is the combination of peginterferon-α2a with ribavirin [17], as studies in adult individuals have shown that the Table 3 Serum levels (μg/ml ± SE) of tryptophan (Trp), 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), and serotonin (5-HT) in six female patients affected by HCV before IFN-α2a therapy and one month and six months later Baseline (μg/ml) 1 month (μg/ml) 6 months (μg/ml) polyethylene glycol (PEG) added to the interferon molecule makes the drug more effective than the unmodified IFN-α2a [18][19][20][21]. Therefore, further studies on the treatment of the hepatitis C virus will be carried out utilizing pegylated IFN-α and a larger study population.…”

Novel Systemic Drugs for Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

“…The adverse reactions to PEG-IFN -2a include all the side effects typically seen with currently-approved interferon therapies, including fatigue, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, flu-like symptoms, nausea and vomiting, fever, chills, partial alopecia, diarrhea, abdominal pain, depression, irritability, insomnia and anorexia. There also appears to be a dosedependent reduction of white blood cells, albeit clinically acceptable [70].…”