title: Health-related quality of life, fatigue, and depression under low-dose IFN-α therapy in melanoma patients.
abstract: Adjuvant melanoma treatment with interferon-α (IFN-α) has proven to be accompanied by several side effects and to decrease patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL), fatigue and depression being essential factors at that. Although a large body of evidence exists for HRQOL under IFN-α therapy, we now specifically address this topic combining the HRQOL survey in the first months of IFN-α low-dose treatment with a structured assessment of relevant neuropsychiatric side effects, fatigue and depression, with specific validated assessment tools. The present study is a longitudinal observational study assessing fatigue, depression, and HRQOL with specific assessment tools at 3 assessment points over 6 months. The IFN-α treatment group consisted of 48 patients with current IFN-α therapy (3 MU 3 times weekly) from a consecutively recruited melanoma collective and compared with a parallelized nontreatment group (n=48) in routine clinical practice. A descriptive analysis and generalized linear models were applied to compare the groups. Physical fatigue increased significantly within the first months of IFN-α treatment, whereas cognitive and emotional fatigue and depression symptoms did not show this increase. The hypothesis of a significant deterioration of HRQOL after IFN-α initiation was not confirmed. The treatment group did, however, show a different course of global HRQOL than the comparison group, with a significant improvement in the nontreatment group. Patients under low-dose IFN-α therapy primarily suffer from physical side effects, mainly physical fatigue, in the early phases of treatment. The HRQOL improvement evident in the nontreatment group was not observed in the IFN-α group.
authors.affiliation: Departments of *Psychiatry and Psychotherapy †Dermatology, Medical Center, Hauptstrasse §Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, University of Freiburg, Engelbergerstrasse, Freiburg ‡Institute of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Basel, Birsstrasse, Basel ∥Department of Dermatology, University Clinic Cologne, Kerpener Strasse, Cologne ¶Department of Dermatology, Medical Center Dortmund, Beurhausstrasse, Dortmund, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reuter
authors.forename: Karoline
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seelig
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meiss
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mauch
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kreuzberg
authors.forename: Dorothée
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nashan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects*; D003863:Depression; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha