Abstract
Background: Interferon-α-2b (INF-α) has been able to achieve hematological and cytogenetic remission
in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients and has a beneficial effect in patients
who have relapsed after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Hydroxyurea (HU) is the
optimal conventional drug for treatment of CML in the chronic phase. IFN-α-based combinations
have attempted to improve the results of single agent trials. Methods: Thirty previously untreated patients (16 males and 14 females, 26–70 years old),
newly diagnosed as having CML (Philadelphia chromosome-positive) from a single hematology
center, were treated with a combination of IFN-α and HU. The initial dose of IFN-α
was 3×106 daily (not corrected for body surface). HU was administered at a dose of 40 mg/kg
daily. The maintenance dosage was adjusted to the white blood cell (WBC) count. Results: The median observation time was 5.2 years. Twenty-seven patients maintained the
prescribed dose of IFN-α, while three patients received IFN-α at a dose of 5×106 due to persistent elevated WBC count. Complete hematological remission was achieved
in 20 patients (66.6%) and partial remission in the other 10 patients (33.3%). Two
patients achieved complete cytogenetic remission and three patients partial cytogenetic
remission. During the study period, 20 patients died (median survival 5.1 years).
The youngest patient (26 years old) died during BMT. Ten patients are still alive
(median survival 5.37 years). Side effects from IFN-α included fever (100%) and flu-like
syndrome (80%); two patients had tumor cell lysis syndrome. Conclusions: Combination INF-α and HU therapy is well tolerated and effective for the treatment
of CML patients, resulting in a rapid control of the disease with only minor side
effects.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 29,
1999
Identification
Copyright
© 1999 Published by Elsevier Inc.
