Ineffective treatment of keloids with interferon alpha-2b

Keloids are exuberant, disfiguring scars that result from an abnormal healing process. Current established treatment strategies include surgical resection, triamcinolone steroid injection, pressure therapy, silicone therapy, and radiotherapy. None of these therapies, either alone or in combination, offers consistent recurrence-free rates above 70 to 80 percent. The antiproliferative, antifibrotic cytokine, interferon alpha-2b, may be useful in keloid management because of its ability to interfere with collagen synthesis and fibroblast proliferation.

To determine the efficacy of interferon alpha-2b in keloid management, the authors prospectively evaluated the effects of interferon alpha-2b as postexcisional adjuvant therapy for keloids. Thirty-nine keloids in 34 patients were photographed, measured, and surgically excised. The wound bed was injected twice with either interferon alpha-2b (treatment group; n = 13 keloids) or triamcinolone (control group; n = 26 keloids) at surgery and 1 week later. The patients were followed up in the plastic surgery clinic.

The trial protocol was terminated at midtrial surveillance. Among the 13 keloids that were treated with postoperative intralesional interferon alpha-2b, seven recurred (54 percent recurrence rate). In contrast, in the 26 keloids that received triamcinolone (control group), only four recurred (15 percent recurrence rate). Recurrence in either group did not correlate with location of the keloid or race.

Interferon does not appear to be effective in the clinical management of keloids.