TREATMENT OF LEUKEMIA RELAPSE AFTER BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION WITH INTERFERON-ALPHA AND INTERLEUKIN-2

A 16-year-old girl with refractory AML received unmanipulated BMT from an unrelated donor. Leukemia relapse occurred 82 days later, The patient was then treated with IL-2 1.8 x 10(6) U/m(2) for 5 days per week and 2.5 MU/m(2) IFN-alpha three times per week, Toxicities included fever, skin rash, somnolence and a generalized seizure, Treatment was stopped after 2 weeks, Acute GVHD developed at the end of therapy and the patient's leukemia went into remission, She died of fungal pneumonia 30 days later, We conclude that a combination of cytokines may be useful in treating relapsed leukemia after BMT.