title: Long-term clinical effects of interferon gamma-1b and colchicine in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
abstract: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)/usual interstitial pneumonia is a deadly disease with no effective treatment. The purpose of this randomised prospective multicentric study was to characterise the clinical effects of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) 1b administered subcutaneously thrice weekly versus colchicine for 2 yrs. This study had no pre-specified end-points. Fifty consecutive IPF patients were randomised. Patients with mild-to-moderate IPF were eligible for the study if they had histologically proven IPF, or, in the absence of surgical biopsy, fulfilled the European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society criteria. In the intent-to-treat population, five out of 32 (15.6%) IFN-gamma-1b patients and seven out of 18 (38.8%) colchicine patients died after a median follow-up period of 25 months Patients treated with IFN-gamma 1b showed a better outcome after 2 yrs of therapy, and fewer symptoms, as assessed using the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire, after 12 months of therapy. Also, the IFN-gamma-1b group exhibited a higher forced vital capacity (percentage of the predicted value) after 24 months of treatment. No significant differences were detected in resting arterial oxygen tension, total lung capacity (% pred), transfer factor of the lung for carbon monoxide (% pred) and high-resolution computed tomographic scoring between the two treatment groups. These data suggest that long-term treatment with interferon gamma 1b may improve survival and outcome in patients with mild-to-moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Further studies are needed to verify these results.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Pneumonology, Medical School, University of Crete, Iráklion, Greece.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Antoniou
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dimadi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Malagari
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Latsi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rapti
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tzanakis
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Trigidou
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Polychronopoulos
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bouros
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D003078:Colchicine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D050257:Tubulin Modulators / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D050257:Tubulin Modulators; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D003078:Colchicine