Clinical medicine profile
Interferon Alfa-2
Therapeutic agent (verify pharmacological class)
- Route
- See product SmPC
- Schedule
- POM
- ATC
- Not assigned
- PPB status
- registered
This profile needs source confirmation
Some sections contain general class guidance rather than medicine-specific evidence. Confirm prescribing decisions against the current SmPC and Kenya STG/EML.
Safety essentials
The information most likely to change a prescribing or dispensing decision.
Contraindications
- Hypersensitivity to the active substance or excipients.
- Additional absolute contraindications are indication- and product-specific — consult SmPC.
Precautions
- Complete blood counts and clinical chemistry tests should be performed before initiation of treatment with this drug
- patients with the cardiac abnormalities and/or are in advanced stages of cancer should have ECG taken before and during the course of treatment.
Dosing matrix
Population and organ-function guidance, shown together for faster comparison.
Ten MIU / day IM or SC. Consult specialist literature for further information
See label paediatric section if present; otherwise use paediatric formulary — do not extrapolate adult doses.
Review renal impairment dosing; many agents need CrCl/eGFR adjustment.
- CrCl 0–120: Confirm renal dosing in product SmPC / primary label.
Review hepatic impairment dosing; monitor LFTs if agent is hepatically cleared or hepatotoxic.
Use, effects & interactions
Indications
- Hairy cell leukemia
- AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma in patients 18 years and above
- chronic phase of Philadelphia chromosome [Ph] positive chronic myelogenous leukemia [CML] in patients who are minimally pretreated.
Adverse effects
- Leukopenia
- neutropenia
- thrombo- cytopenia
- depressive illness
- suicidal tendency
- hypersensitivity reactions
- head- ache
- weight loss
- dizziness
- flu-like symptoms
- chest pain
- hypertension
- joint or bone pain arthritis or polyarthri- tis
- anorexia
Drug interactions
Open multi-drug checker ↗- Professional use: confirm indication, dose, duration, monitoring and patient counselling points against current Kenya STG / EML and the product SmPC.
- Document allergy status and key interactions.
Mechanism & disposition
It has direct antiproliferative and immunomodulatory activities on tumor cells.
Read complete mechanism
It has direct antiproliferative and immunomodulatory activities on tumor cells. Mechanism is agent-specific. At receptor, enzyme, ion channel, transporter or microbial target level, the drug alters a physiological or pathological pathway to produce its therapeutic effect. Confirm precise molecular mechanism in current SmPC / pharmacology reference for this INN before high-stakes decisions.
Product-specific
Product-specific
See product SmPC
are product-specific. Consider food effects, protein binding, hepatic CYP/UGT
when adjusting for organ impairment, age and drug interactions. Verify parameters in the current SmPC.
Pregnancy, lactation & diet
Use only if potential benefit justifies potential risk; prefer agents with better reproductive data when alternatives exist.
Assess infant risk vs benefit of maternal therapy; prefer agents with lactation data.
Brands & loaded prices
| Brand | Manufacturer | Pack | Observed price |
|---|---|---|---|
| No reviewed brand listings are linked yet. | |||
Sources & review state
Decision support only. Confirm patient-specific decisions against the current product SmPC, Kenya STG/EML, and professional judgement.