Response duration and recovery of CD4( ) lymphocytes following deoxycoformycin in interferon-alpha-resistant hairy cell leukemia: 7-year follow-up

Abstract

The long-term outcome of patients with hairy cell leukemia resistant to interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) following treatment with deoxycoformycin (DCF) was examined, and the kinetics of recovery of lymphocyte subsets and factors influencing the rate of recovery investigated. Between May 1986 and May 1989, 15 patients with histologically confirmed hairy cell leukemia resistant to IFN-alpha received DCF 4 mg/m2 every 2 weeks with 12 cycles planned. All 15 patients were evaluable for response and have been followed for a median of 88 months (range, 72 to 106 months) from the start of therapy. Fourteen patients responded to DCF, all attaining complete remission (CR) (response rate 93%; 95% confidenc..