Successful treatment of hairy cell leukaemia with pegylated interferon-alpha-2A

Introduction: Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is an indolent B-cell lymphoproliferative disease. Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) was the first successfully used drug in HCL; its favourable effect has been known since the early 1980s. However, currently the first-line treatment of the disease consists of purine nucleoside analogs. Objectives: The aim of our study was to assess the efficacy of pegylated IFN-alpha in HCL patients treated with this drug at a single university center. Methods: We report the treatment characteristics and outcome of seven classical HCL patients treated with pegylated IFN-alpha at the Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University. Results: As a result of pegylated interferon-alpha treatment, 3 of 7 patients (3/7) achieved an unconfirmed complete remission, 3 of 7 patients (3/7) achieved partial remission. One patient had stable disease while receiving pegylated IFN-alpha. Only mild adverse effects and no infectious complications were observed during our treatment. Conclusion: Our clinical data support that pegylated IFN-alpha in monotherapy is effective and safe even in elderly and frail HCL patients. It may also be a preferred therapeutic option in patients with profound immunosuppression and in patients with severe active infections.