Interferon treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

In this report we have reviewed studies on the clinical effect of the interferon (IFN) treatment of 304 patients suffering from cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Intramuscular, subcutaneous or intralesional administration of recombinant IFN has been used as monotherapy or as part of combination therapy. In general, IFN has proved to be a relatively effective agent in the treatment of CTCL, and the best responses have been achieved in the early stages of the disease. In CTCL the overall response rate to IFN including complete, partial and minor responses is 70%. Neither the doses nor the routes of administration in these studies has any statistically significant influence on the clinical response to IFN treatment. Continuous low-dose IFN therapy, presumably in combination with psoralen and UVA light (PUVA), is recommended. This review concludes that the clinical stage of disease before treatment is the only known predictive parameter concerning the clinical response to IFN treatment in patients with CTCL.