Successful treatment of accelerated and blastic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia with high-dose interferon alpha and hydroxyurea: a novel approach.

Six patients with either acceleration or blast crisis of transformed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) were treated with high-dose interferon alpha in combination with hydroxyurea. All patients responded to the treatment by reversal to stable chronic phase. Two of these patients responded repeatedly during their course of disease. Median time for return to chronic phase was 4 weeks. Adverse side-effects such as nausea, vomiting, hairloss, fever, prolonged cytopenia were not observed.