Sarcoidosis associated with interferon-α therapy for chronic hepatitis C

The Role of Type I IFN and TNF-α in the Pathogenesis of Sarcoidosis

“…The precise prevalence of IIS, however, may be underestimated and difficult to assess because its clinical presentation mimics the constitutional IFN-related adverse effects [6]. Actually, Hoffman et al found a 5% incidence of sarcoidosis in a cohort of 60 patients who participated in a randomized trial of IFN-α therapy for chronic HCV [40] Basically the clinical presentation of IIS resembles that of its idiopathic counterpart. The most commonly affected sites of involvement in IIS are skin and lungs, though many other organ systems have also been involved such as liver, joints and heart.…”

Sarcoidosis Associated With Pegylated Interferon Alfa and Ribavirin Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis C

“…A review of the English literature found 13 cases (including the current one) in which the sarcoidal manifestations included cutaneous lesions. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Details of these cases are summarized in the Table. Six patients had only cutaneous involvement. One patient had cutaneous plus liver involvement discovered on an incidental protocol biopsy specimen.…”

Neurosarcoidosis Associated with Interferon Therapy

“…To date, several reports have been published on the possible association between therapy with type I IFN (IFN-· and -ß) and sarcoidosis [2][3][4][5][6]. In most reported cases, IFN was used for the treatment of viral hepatitis, and the organs involved are lung or skin, and there has been no report of neurosarcoidosis associated with IFN therapy.…”