Role of interferon-alfa in NHL: Still controversial?

Recombinant interferon-alfa (Intron A, Roferon-A) has been under investigat ion as a therapeutic agent for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) for 25 years, I t has antitumor efficacy in a number of histologic subtypes but has not bee n accepted as a clinically useful agent by the majority of oncologists/hema tologists. A fetal of 10 prospective, randomized trial of interferon-alfa h ave been conducted in patients with follicular lymphoma. A survival benefit associated with interferon-alfa has been demonstrated in three of these tr ials, which used an anthracycline-based combination chemotherapy induction regimen, primarily in patients with balky symptomatic disease. In this arti cle, we review these trials, as well as the use of interferon-alfa in other NHL subtypes, Based on these data, we support the recommendation that inte rferon-alfa be added to an anthracycline-based induction regimen in the tre atment of patients with clinically or histologically aggressive follicular lymphoma. This agent also appears to be effective inpatients with diffuse l arge B-cell lymphoma and inpatients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, Prelimi nary clinical data support the need for prospective, randomized phase III t rials evaluating the Pole of interferon-alfa in these disorders.