Interferon-alpha treatment decreases serum crosslinked C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen in haematological diseases

Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) is used in the treatment of many haematologica l diseases and it is known that IFN-alpha may affect bone turnover. The eff ect of IFN-alpha on bone metabolism was studied in 10 haematological patien ts. The mean duration of the treatment was 4 (range: 2.8-7.2) months. Besid es the usual markers of bone metabolism, levels of the cross-linked C-termi nal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), the N-terminal propeptide of typ e I procollagen (PINP) and the bone-specific alkaline phosphatase were meas ured. The bone mineral density was measured by computed tomography. During IFN-alpha treatment, serum ICTP decreased from a mean of 5.4 (range: 1.8-12 .4) to 3.6 (range: 1.4-8.8) mu g/l (P = 0.017), All other variables reflect ing bone metabolism remained unaltered during IFN-alpha treatment. The bone mineral density remained unchanged. It was concluded that the observed dec rease in ICTP may be an indicator of a beneficial therapeutic effect of IFN -alpha on bone turnover, resulting in decreased bone resorption. However, i t is possible that elevated pretreatment ICTP values reflected disease of t he bone marrow.