Durable complete remissions after 2′‐deoxycoformycin treatment in patients with hairy cell leukemia resistant to interferon alpha

The efficacy of interferon alpha in treatment of hairy cell leukemia is well established. Our experience with low doses of 2'-deoxycoformycin, a competitive inhibitor of adenosine deaminase, showed that it was also effective against hairy cell leukemia in 10 of 11 patients studied whose disease was resistant to interferon alpha. Ten patients entered complete remission after five to 12 doses of 2'-deoxycoformycin (4 mg/m2 every other week), and one patient did not respond. No relapses were observed after median follow-up of 18.5 months; unmaintained complete remissions lasted from more than 10 to more than 30 months. The study demonstrated that 2'-deoxycoformycin induces a high rate of durable, unmaintained complete remissions in patients with hairy cell leukemia resistant to interferon alpha.