Interferon Alpha Administration as Post-transplantationImmunotherapy in Malignant Lymphomas - Case-control Study

Overview

Backgrounds.
A possible cause of relapses in patients with malignant lymphomas after autologous transplantationof haematopoietic cells is among others the absence of an immune reaction. The objective of the present study wasto assess the effect of long-term interferon alpha administration after autologous transplantation in malignantlymphomas.Methods and Results. A total of 16 patients were followed up (9 men and 6 women, mean age 44 years) 14 withnon-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and two with Hodgkin’s disease where after high-dose transplantation with autologoustransplantation of haematopoietic cells immunotherapy was started by administration of IFN alpha 3 MU three timeper week. The treatment was well tolerated, only in two patients (12.5%) the doses had to be reduced or temporalitydiscontinued. The results were compared with a control group (16 subjects, 12 men, 4 women, mean age 43 yearsand similar other characteristics as the followed up group) who were not given IFN alpha after transplantation.The controls were paired with regard to the condition after transplantation, grade of pretreatment, diagnosis andage. In the group treated with IFN alpha five relapses developed and two deaths occurred, in the control group fourrelapses and three deaths. The probability of survival without signs of progression (PFS) and total survival (OS)within 18 months is in the treated group 67.4% and 88.9%, in the control group 86.5% and 93.8%. The results arenot statistically significant.Conclusions. The authors confirmed in their study the feasibility of long-term administration of IFN alpha aftertransplantation. On a preliminary basis it may be stated that the results did not differ in the treated and not treatedpatients, nevertheless the impact of this type of immunotherapy or its modification will have to be evaluated ina randomized study.

Key words:
malignant lymphoma, transplantation, relapse, immunotherapy, interferon alpha, NHL, Hodgkin,transplantation, immunotherapy, interferon alpha, IFN alpha, case control study.