Is interferon a form of chemo therapy?

[lynne655]

The other question i meant to ask is whether interferon is a form of chemotherapy or not?
Thanks
Lynne

[HSIBCC]

It is just this simple:
All I know in the following -,however  my wife had cancer and I have e had Hep C for 30 years and gone through five Interferon treatments .
1- Chemotherapy is the use of medication (chemicals) to treat disease, only through ignorance one believes it  only applies to cancer
3-No one and I mean no one, can say how someone else feels after treatment of chemo for cancer or Hep-C.
4. I  knew a   school teacher who had breast cancer ,  after removal of one breast  , she was released, and  after healing from surgery  and began chemo and radiation ,  she did not miss one day of teaching  her class, yes that is correct , chemo and radiation, and did not miss a day teaching other than when she was having treatment. So suck it up folks- and do not compare nor judge.
5.  I have known of and read of some taking interferon /Rib for Hep C , and  kill themselves and sometimes others, and or had to be taken of due to it (interferon )  almost killing them.
So, all said, no one can truly speak for another until they go through it themselves- for medicine if far from being an exact science,. However, we( humanity) has come a long way in treating cancer and virus , but have only began to scratch the surface if that, so do not judge others , mine your own BS and inform yourself or continue to walk blindly through life . I am that, I am, and who told you - ;you were naked- it is what it is.
Truly,
Thought I once did , but now I realize - I and no one truly,  DOES NOT KNOW

[meanjean67]

Really... never saw anyone kill themselves or loose their mind on Chemo... might want to interview a few folks on Interferon.

[panda2526]

Hope so, but aside from some of the "old" info included in the post, I understand there is newer info, (I acknowledged that in my post), I found that the explanation of how interferon is used and in what types of situations was helpful. I believe the original question was about whether interferon is chemotherapy...I found it helpful to find a discussion on what interferon is and how it is used. The info is not dragged up from 2001...it is a discussion of the series of events and prior treatments and recent approvals that led up to the latest therapies, including triple therapy with the latest protease drugs. The oral meds you speak of, without interferon, are not on the market yet, date to be announced, so at this moment for a person considering treatment now, the triple therapy, with interferon, are the only options, as outlined in my post above.

And my point was not to discuss treatment options, but to add to the thread about what interferon is and how it is used in cancer treatment in certain situations, including liver cancers and tumors, alongside what other medications...I found it helpful...sorry you did not.

Have a lovely evening...C

[orphanedhawk]

Anybody can find most anything on the net. Please include links when you post, thanks.

Honestly, I don't think dragging up information from 2001 does much more than confuse people.
When I was first diagnosed in late 2005, seeing information about the old three times weekly injections of interferon, didn't help me at all.

Now, when most genotype 1 people are treating with triple tx, this old stuff becomes even more needless.
And~lol, within hopefully a short time, the new all oral meds will make this discussion entirely moot.

[panda2526]

Many of the long timer's and experienced people know this info already, but here is some "easy" to understand technical explanation for the newbies...like myself. And I am certain there is more and other info aside from this. Quoting...

"Interferon therapy is used (in combination with chemotherapy and radiation) as a treatment for many cancers.[20] This treatment is most effective for treating hematological malignancy; leukemia and lymphomas including hairy cell leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, nodular lymphoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Patients with recurrent melanomas receive recombinant IFN-α2b.[23] Type I IFNs have a therapeutic potential for the treatment of a wide variety of leukemias and solid tumors due to their antiproliferative and apoptotic effects, their anti-angiogenic effects and their ability to modulate an immune response specifically activating dendritic cells, cytolytic T cells and NK cells. Research in this area is receiving intensive investigation." End quote.

(In China, in recent years they have used interferon's to treat recurrent liver cancer in primary liver cancer with some success in preventing recurrence.)

Quote..."In January 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of PEGylated interferon-alpha in the USA; in this formulation, polyethylene glycol is added to make the interferon last longer in the body. Initially used for production of PEGylated interferon-alpha-2b (Pegintron), approval for PEGylated interferon-alpha-2a (Pegasys) followed in October 2002. These PEGylated drugs are injected once weekly, rather than administering three times per week, as is necessary for conventional interferon-alpha. When used with the antiviral drug ribavirin, PEGylated interferon is effective in treatment of hepatitis C; at least 75% people with hepatitis C genotypes 2 or 3 benefit from interferon treatment, although this is effective in less than 50% of people infected with genotype 1 (the more common form of hepatitis C virus in both the U.S. and Western Europe).[35][36][37] Recently, 2 new Protease Inhibitors have been approved which improves the outcomes for Genotype 1 hepatitis C - boceprevir and telaprevir. These drugs are used in addition to PEG-IFN / Ribavirin." End quote

I liked this explanation as it was something a new person like myself, could understand reasonably well.

Good evening all, C

[uncledudeness]

i tell people that I am in "treatment". I never use the word "chemo". i let them come to whatever conclusion they want to. they then ask where it is and i point to my right side.....if that works for anyone, I would gladly license the use of the word "treatment"; for a nominal fee of course.