[Various aspects and results of therapy with interferon]

Aspects and Results of Interferon Therapy Interferons are effector molecules with pleiotropic biologic functions. Significant clinical activities have been seen in viral diseases and hematologic malignancies, such as hairy cell leukemia, low-grade nodular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and chronic myelogenous leukemia. In contrast, the efficacy in solid tumors has been less impressive. In these disorders, higher doses are necessary to induce remission. Responses to interferons are typically slow with improvement often taking several weeks to months. A wide range of both acute and chronic toxicities have been defined. Since these side effects are dose-related and are rarely tolerable for long-term treatment, optimal doses and schedules should be defined in future clinical trials. A better understanding of the mode of anticancer action is an important area of interferon research. Clinical areas might preferably include situations with minimal tumor load, especially in combination with other cytokines, different cytostatic drugs or local therapeutic modalities.