Interferon questions

Intereferon is the generic name for Intron-A.  Here is  the RxList entry for Intron-A:    http://www.rxlist.com/intron-a-drug.htm

 Reading the dosage information, you can get a really good idea of the dosage differences between Hepatitis C and melanoma.  According to it:

For melanoma, the high-dose regimen is 5-days a week for 4 weeks at 20miu/m2, administered by IV. 

The low-dose regimen is 3x per week for 48 weeks at 10miu/m2 administered subcutaneously.

For hepatits C, the regimen is 3miu, 3x per week, administered subcutaneously.

One of the major dosage adjustments between melanoma and hepatitis C is that for melanoma, the dosage is partially based on the patient's "size" (notice the "/m2" in calculating the dosage), and for hepatitis C, it is a straight 3miu.

For me, my high-dosage was 32 miu, while my low-dose was 16miu.  Given the dosage is that much higher, you can probably expect the side effects to also be higher while taking interferon for melanoma.

Intereferon is the generic name for Intron-A.  Here is  the RxList entry for Intron-A:    http://www.rxlist.com/intron-a-drug.htm

 Reading the dosage information, you can get a really good idea of the dosage differences between Hepatitis C and melanoma.  According to it:

For melanoma, the high-dose regimen is 5-days a week for 4 weeks at 20miu/m2, administered by IV. 

The low-dose regimen is 3x per week for 48 weeks at 10miu/m2 administered subcutaneously.

For hepatits C, the regimen is 3miu, 3x per week, administered subcutaneously.

One of the major dosage adjustments between melanoma and hepatitis C is that for melanoma, the dosage is partially based on the patient's "size" (notice the "/m2" in calculating the dosage), and for hepatitis C, it is a straight 3miu.

For me, my high-dosage was 32 miu, while my low-dose was 16miu.  Given the dosage is that much higher, you can probably expect the side effects to also be higher while taking interferon for melanoma.

Hi Gtown,

The interferon dose for melanoma is about 6 times the amount given for Hep C.  It's administered intravenously 5 consecutive days a week during the induction or initial phase, then the self-dosing as you noted for 1 year (maintenance phase).  Adjuvant treatment like interferon, because of its toxicity and relatively minor impact on the disease, is rarely (if ever??) offered after an initial local excision w/o metastasis.

I received interferon after a second recurrence and metastasis to one lymph node. All respond differently, but one should not expect any where near the same level of tolerance you had w/ the Hep C weekly injections.  I was pretty much laid up after the 2nd week of the induction phase and had to discontinue after the 4 weeks due to illness.  Many, many do complete the entire year, but that first month is no walk in the park.

Hope this helps. 

Hi Gtown,

The interferon dose for melanoma is about 6 times the amount given for Hep C.  It's administered intravenously 5 consecutive days a week during the induction or initial phase, then the self-dosing as you noted for 1 year (maintenance phase).  Adjuvant treatment like interferon, because of its toxicity and relatively minor impact on the disease, is rarely (if ever??) offered after an initial local excision w/o metastasis.

I received interferon after a second recurrence and metastasis to one lymph node. All respond differently, but one should not expect any where near the same level of tolerance you had w/ the Hep C weekly injections.  I was pretty much laid up after the 2nd week of the induction phase and had to discontinue after the 4 weeks due to illness.  Many, many do complete the entire year, but that first month is no walk in the park.

Hope this helps. 

The response to interferon is variable so I don't know how much this will help, but anyway – my husband was on interferon for his Hep C and worked is desk job just fine.  He didn't do much else, but he went in every day.  Major side effects were fatigue and depression.

 I did both high dose – 5 days/week for a month – and 6 months of the low dose for melanoma.   I couldn't work, shoot, I could barely walk.  However my age (58 at the time) might have had something to do with it.  

As I said, this is just our experience.  I remember reading on the board where other people have had an easier time with it.  Just depends on your particular physiology.  Drinking lots of water helps – good luck!

Fen

The response to interferon is variable so I don't know how much this will help, but anyway – my husband was on interferon for his Hep C and worked is desk job just fine.  He didn't do much else, but he went in every day.  Major side effects were fatigue and depression.

 I did both high dose – 5 days/week for a month – and 6 months of the low dose for melanoma.   I couldn't work, shoot, I could barely walk.  However my age (58 at the time) might have had something to do with it.  

As I said, this is just our experience.  I remember reading on the board where other people have had an easier time with it.  Just depends on your particular physiology.  Drinking lots of water helps – good luck!

Fen