IMPACT OF INTERFERON AT INDUCTION CHEMOTHERAPY AND MAINTENANCE TREATMENT FOR MULTIPLE-MYELOMA - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS OF A MULTICENTER STUDY BY THE ITALIAN NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA COOPERATIVE STUDY-GROUP (NHLCSG)

In 1990 the Italian Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Cooperative Study Group (NH LSG) started a multicenter study on the role of interferon (IFN) in mu ltiple myeloma (MM). The schedule of treatment was based on the assump tion that melphalan plus prednisone (MP) would be better for good-prog nosis patients, whereas poor-prognosis patients would benefit from pol ychemotherapy, Accordingly, IFN was included randomly for the inductio n treatment of good-prognosis patients and randomly as maintenance of the response achieved in both groups. Up to now 78 patients of the 124 enrolled have completed the induction treatment and are evaluable for response and response duration. The overall response rate was 59%. Si xty-two percent of good-prognosis patients obtained objective response , 9/14 (64%) with MP and 9/15 (60%) with MP + IFN. Up to now, with a m edian follow-up of 9 months from the evaluation of response, no differ ence has been recorded between the maintenance and no maintenance grou ps on relapse rate, neither in good- nor in poor-prognosis patients.