HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA DURING LONG-TERM INTERFERON-ALPHA THERAPY IN A SERIES OF HEMATOLOGIC PATIENTS

Adverse reactions to interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy include flu- like syndrome, bone marrow suppression, neurotoxic effects, and autoim munity, A slight increase in triglyceride levels has been described le ss frequently during IFN-alpha administration, The incidence of IFN-al pha-induced hypertriglyceridemia seems variable, and there are no clea r data on how to treat it. We report the effect of long-term (more tha n 12 months) IFN-alpha treatment on triglyceride levels in 43 patients suffering from hairy cell leukemia (18), multiple myeloma (10), chron ic myelogenous leukemia (6), cryoglobulinemia (5), non-Hodgkin's lymph oma (3), and Sezary syndrome (1), Hypertriglyceridemia was found in 6 patients (15%), In 3 patients, gemfibrozil restored normal triglycerid e values, This study suggests that hypertriglyceridemia is a minor sid e effect of long-term IFN-alpha therapy and that gemfibrozil might be considered the treatment of choice.