Interferon-alpha (IFN alfa) is an older cytokine drug used to fight various cancers. It is not a standard first-line drug in lymphoma at this point, but older trials did evaluate interferon alpha, including in a maintenance role. Today, maintenance therapy, when used, is usually based on rituximab (Rituxan, MabThera).
A 2010 Italian review of previous trials argued that IFN alfa might have some impact on overall survival in follicular lymphoma, but only when added to combination chemotherapy, and only at the cost of greater toxic side effects.
Published Trials
P. Baldo et al. "Interferon-alpha for Maintenance of Follicular Lymphoma." Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews (2010).
No comments:
Post a Comment