title: Second malignancy in hairy cell leukaemia: no evidence of increased incidence after treatment with interferon alpha.
abstract: The last decade has seen a dramatic improvement in prognosis of hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) but concern has emerged with regard to the incidence of second malignancy. A recent report found an 18.8% incidence of second cancers and suggested a possible role for alpha-interferon (IFN) in their pathogenesis. We reviewed our larger series of 200 patients with HCL. We found second malignancies in 8 cases (4.0%), all but one of whom had received IFN. However, when compared to age- and sex- matched population data this represents no increase in relative risk of second cancer in patients with HCL and provides no evidence of a role for IFN in the pathogenesis of these second malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Academic Department of Haematology and Cytogenetics, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pawson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: A'Hern
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Catovsky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015994:Incidence; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007943:Leukemia, Hairy Cell / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D007155:Immunologic Factors; D016898:Interferon-alpha