Splenectomy, interferon, and treatments of historical interest in hairy cell leukemia.

The evolution and "lessons learned" for therapeutic options and approaches in HCL, which subsequently evolved into the adenosine deaminase inhibitors as the treatment of choice, has been intriguing. The contributions to patient care and individual patient lives have been remarkable. Observation, splenectomy, and recombinant interferon are potential therapeutic are alternatives in select patients as initial therapy, and as therapeutic alternatives in the 10% of patients who have progressive disease after the purine nucleoside analogs.