Interferon Alpha-2B (IFN-a) Is an Effective Agent for the Treatment of Primary Cutaneous T- and B-Cell Lymphoma.

Primary cutaneous lymphoma comprise a wide range of rare diseases of which the commonest T- cell subtypes include mycosis fungoides (MF), Sezary syndrome (SS) and peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) while follicle center cell lymphoma (FCL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBL) and extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (MZL) represent the B-cell subtypes. The behavior of these diseases is different from nodal NHL and it has been shown that IFN-a can produce long-lasting remissions in early stages MF. On the contrary, there are no reports on the efficacy of IFN- a for primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas (CBCL). The purpose of this study was to present our experience on IFN -a treatment for patients with both primary T-cell and B-cell cutaneous NHL. Forty-one patients, 25 with primary cutaneous T-cell NHL (CTCL) (16 MF, 4 SS, 5 PTCL) and 16 with CBCL (4 MZL, 3 FCL, 8 DLBL, 1 lymphoblastic NHL) were included in this study. Of the 25 CTCL patients, 20 were males (median age 48y); 16 received IFN-a as first line treatment, 5 after PUVA and 4 after failure of other treatment modalities. Of the 16 CBCL patients, 8 were males (median age 57y); 14 received IFN-a frontline and 2 after treatment failure. Three to 5 MU IFN-a were administered subcutaneously daily with paracetamol prophylactically 1 hour before injection and two hours after. 17 out of 24 CTCL patients responded (overall response rate 71%, 42% CR and 29% PR) (12/16 MF, 1/4 SS and 3/5 PTCL). Median time to response was 4 months (1–17). Median duration of response was 15 months (8–38). 11 patients relapsed, 1 responder rapidly discontinued treatment because of side effects (cataract), the others are still under treatment with IFN-a. Among patients with CBCL 12/14 responded (overall response rate 86%, 64% CR and 22% PR). Median time to response was 2 months (1–4) and median response duration 23 months (13–30); 4 patients relapsed, 1 discontinued treatment because of side effects (depression), another continued with Peg- IFN because of chronic fatigue and the others are still under IFN-a treatment. With respect to histologic subtype, all 4 MZL patients responded; 2/3 FCL and 4/8 DLBL also responded. Flu-like syndrome was observed in the majority of patients at treatment initiation and 60% of patients presented mild leukopenia. In conclusion IFN-a is an effective treatment in primary cutaneous NHL and is usually well tolerated. As already reported response rate is satisfactory in MF. The high response rate observed in CBCL, especially in low-grade subtypes, but also in half of DLBL patients has not been reported previously.