title: The treatment of 45 patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with low doses of interferon-alpha 2a and etretinate.
abstract: Forty-five patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL), 32 with mycosis fungoides (MF) and 13 with Sézary syndrome (SS), were treated with interferon-alpha 2a (IFN-alpha 2a) (6-9 x 10(6) IU daily) for 3 months. Those responding to treatment were then treated with interferon-alpha alone (6-9 x 10(6) IU three times weekly), and non-responders received a combination of etretinate (0.5 mg/kg/day) and IFN-alpha 2a in similar concentrations. After 12 months of treatment, 28/45 patients (62.2%) were in complete or partial (greater than 50%) remission. Of these, 17 (60.7%) were receiving IFN-alpha alone and 11 the combined interferon-retinoid therapy. Of the patients with MF stage I and II, 20/25 were responders (12 receiving IFN-alpha alone and eight on combined therapy), whereas only 8/20 with stage IV or SS responded to treatment (five receiving IFN-alpha 2a alone and three combined therapy). These results suggest that the association of etretinate with low-dose recombinant IFN-alpha 2a is an effective means of treating epidermotropic CTCL, particularly in the early stages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, CHU Nantes, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dréno
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Claudy
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meynadier
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Verret
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Souteyrand
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ortonne
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kalis
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Godefroy
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beerblock
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thill
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005050:Etretinate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016410:Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009182:Mycosis Fungoides / Q000188:drug therapy; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012751:Sezary Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D005050:Etretinate