North Jeffrey, Mully Thaddeus
Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA.
J Cutan Pathol. 2011 Jul;38(7):585-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0560.2011.01702.x. Epub 2011 Apr 27.
Despite its modest potential benefit, alpha-interferon is one of the most frequently employed therapies for melanoma. With the increasing incidence of melanoma, a parallel increase in interferon use and the associated adverse reactions that accompany interferon therapy should be expected. We present a case of an interferon-induced sarcoidosis-like reaction in a melanoma patient that was initially misinterpreted clinically and radiographically as metastatic melanoma. The etiology of sarcoidosis remains a mystery, but appears to involve Th-1 cytokines such as interferon and interleukin-2. Observance of a sarcoidosis-like reaction induced by interferon therapy lends additional support to the importance of this cytokine in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. It is important for pathologists to be aware of this entity when interpreting biopsies from melanoma patients treated with interferon.
尽管α-干扰素的潜在益处不大，但它仍是黑色素瘤最常用的治疗方法之一。随着黑色素瘤发病率的上升，预计干扰素的使用也会相应增加，同时干扰素治疗会伴随相关不良反应。我们报告一例黑色素瘤患者发生干扰素诱导的结节病样反应，最初在临床和影像学上被误诊为转移性黑色素瘤。结节病的病因仍是个谜，但似乎涉及Th-1细胞因子，如干扰素和白细胞介素-2。观察到干扰素治疗诱导的结节病样反应进一步支持了这种细胞因子在结节病发病机制中的重要性。病理学家在解读接受干扰素治疗的黑色素瘤患者的活检时，了解这一情况很重要。
