title: Towards the pharmacotherapy of hairy cell leukaemia.
abstract: Hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) offers one of the few examples of rapid progress in the development of effective treatments for chronic lymphoproliferative disorders. After the first description of HCL as a separate disease in 1958, splenectomy was the treatment of choice, but rarely resulted in remission of disease and had scarce benefit on survival. In 1984, IFN-alpha became the first agent able to significantly modify the prognosis of HCL by inducing high response rates and long-term remissions. More recently, purine analogues have significantly further increased the percentages of remissions, with a reduced risk of relapse and are now generally used as first-line treatment. Monoclonal antibodies targeting CD20, CD22 and CD25 antigens, have also shown responses for resistant or relapsing disease. This article will review the current treatment strategies for HCL.
authors.affiliation: Policlinico 'Le Scotte', Division of Haematology and Transplants, Viale Bracci 16, 53100 Siena, Italy. lauria@unisi.it
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lauria
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Forconi
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007943:Leukemia, Hairy Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D011687:Purines / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011687:Purines