Treatment of Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma with Intermediate Doses of Interferon Alpha 2a

Abstract

In this study we treated 6 patients with epidermotropic cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) with intermediate doses of recombinant alpha 2a interferon (18–100 × 10⁶ IU/week) for 2–6 months. One patient experienced complete clinical remission in spite of a persistent dense lymphocytic skin infiltrate. One patient was markedly improved and 2 patients were moderately improved. The clinical condition of the 2 remaining patients was unchanged by interferon treatment. In all cases lesions relapsed a few weeks after treatment was discontinued. This study shows that interferon can be used to treat epidermotropic CTCL. However, a 2- to 6-month treatment using moderate doses did not lead to the high percentage of remission previously reported by others with high doses of recombinant alpha 2a interferon, for longer periods. This result suggests that interferon should be used at high doses and/or for long time periods for clinical improvement of CTCL patients.

The Use of Interferons in the Treatment of Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

“…Other small-scale studies have reported responses in patients with MF/SS of all stages to IFN alfa-2a monotherapy. 43,44,54 Interferon alfa in combination with psoralen plus ultraviolet light phototherapy Several studies have examined the use of concomitant IFN alfa and psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) phototherapy. Kuzel and colleagues 36 57 found an impressive CR rate of 75% (mean response duration of 37 months) in 63 patients with stage IA to IVA disease treated with PUVA and IFN alfa-2a, but did not directly compare these results with those of subjects undergoing monotherapy.…”

Sézary syndrome: Immunopathogenesis, literature review of therapeutic options, and recommendations for therapy by the United States Cutaneous Lymphoma Consortium (USCLC)

“…J AM ACAD DERMATOL VOLUME 64, NUMBER 2 alfa-2b tiw but scant data preclude more specific comments on response. Nicolas et al 65 reported improvement in patients with SS treated with interferon alfa 40 MU/wk for 6 months. Dreno et al 66 reported on 13 cases of SS treated with interferon alfa 6 to 9 MU once daily (qd) for 2 to 3 months then tiw for 10 months with an OR in 25% (3 of 12) of these compared with 60% (12 of 20) with early-stage MF.…”

Pruritus Reduction with Systemic Anti-lymphoma Treatments in Patients with Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma: A Narrative Review

“…The impact of methotrexate on CTCL-related pruritus has not been well documented, but anecdotal information suggests the potential for pruritus reduction [6]. Case study data of patients treated with interferon-α also report a decrease in pruritus [78]. …”