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The Role of Interferon in the Treatment of B-Cell Malignancies

  • Conference paper
Interferons in Oncology

Part of the book series: ESO Monographs ((ESO MONOGRAPHS))

  • 24 Accesses

Abstract

The most profound clinical results obtained with interferon to date have occurred in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. In hairy cell leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia interferon treatment has been able to produce not only improvements in peripheral blood counts and long lasting hematologic remissions, but reductions of the putative malignant clones found in the bone marrow. This chapter will review the clinical results of interferon therapy in other hematologic malignancies, particularly those of B-cell origin: Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, multiple myeloma, and acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Perhaps it should not be surprising that alpha interferon, which is a natural product of leukocytes, should be an effective regulator of malignancies which result from abnormal hematopoiesis. Nonetheless, the breadth of interferon’s activity across cell types representing many stages of differentiation in the B-cell lineage is surprising and the possible mechanisms of action responsible for this activity remain an important subject for further investigation. This review describes the clinical results reported to date and discusses interferon’s potential role in the therapeutic management of these diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schering Corporation, 2000 Galloping Hill Road, Kenilworth, N.J., 07033, USA

    Robert J. Spiegel M.D.

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  1. Robert J. Spiegel M.D.
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Imperial Cancer Research Fund Medical Oncology Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, Great Britain

    John F. Smyth

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© 1987 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Spiegel, R.J. (1987). The Role of Interferon in the Treatment of B-Cell Malignancies. In: Smyth, J.F. (eds) Interferons in Oncology. ESO Monographs. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72805-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72805-1_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-72807-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-72805-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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