[Suicidal attempts in three postoperative patients with renal cancer after alpha interferon withdrawal]

We report 3 cases of suicide attempts in postoperative patients with renal cancer after alpha interferon withdrawal. In the first patient, depression occurred during interferon therapy, and remained after interferon withdrawal. A suicide attempt occurred 7 months after interferon withdrawal. In the second and third patients, depression did not occur during interferon therapy, but suicide attempts occurred 40 days and 7 months after interferon withdrawal, respectively. Depression does not always disappear after interferon is discontinued. Psychiatric supervision should be continued even more frequently after interferon withdrawal. The increased risk of psychiatric side effects due to interferon, as well as their severity, suggest that interferon should be administered with caution.