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What is the incidence of hypertriglyceridemia during long-term interferon-alpha therapy in hematologic patients, and can it be treated with gemfibrozil?
What is the incidence of hypertriglyceridemia during long-term interferon-alpha therapy in hematologic patients, and can it be treated with gemfibrozil?
Hypertriglyceridemia is a minor side effect of long-term interferon-alpha therapy that can be effectively managed with gemfibrozil.
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May support triglyceride monitoring during long-term interferon-alpha; case reports leave gemfibrozil efficacy unresolved.
Adverse reactions to interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy include flu-like syndrome, bone marrow suppression, neurotoxic effects, and autoimmunity. A slight increase in triglyceride levels has been described less frequently during IFN-alpha administration. The incidence of IFN-alpha-induced hypertriglyceridemia seems variable, and there are no clear data on how to treat it. We report the effect of long-term (more than 12 months) IFN-alpha treatment on triglyceride levels in 43 patients suffering from hairy cell leukemia (18), multiple myeloma (10), chronic myelogenous leukemia (6), cryoglobulinemia (5), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (3), and Sezary syndrome (1). Hypertriglyceridemia was found in 6 patients (15%). In 3 patients, gemfibrozil restored normal triglyceride values. This study suggests that hypertriglyceridemia is a minor side effect of long-term IFN-alpha therapy and that gemfibrozil might be considered the treatment of choice.
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Sgarabotto et al. (1997) studied this question.
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