Dermatomyositis after interferon alpha treatment

An association between auto-immune disorders and interferon (IFN) has been repented. High levels of natural IFN alpha are present in the blood of patients with auto-immune disease and correlate with disease activity, In addition, IFN alpha treatment of humans has resulted in multiple reports of associated auto-immune phenomena, We describe a patient who underwent resection of regionally metastatic melanoma, was given adjuvant high-dose IFN alpha 2b, and subsequently developed dermatomyositis, To the authors' knowledge this is the first report of dermatomyositis in association with IFN alpha treatment, We review the literature reporting associations between IFN alpha and auto-immune disease and discuss possible mechanisms by which IFN alpha may contribute to the development of auto-immune disease. High dose IFN alpha 2b is more commonly prescribed since it was approved as an adjuvant treatment for patients with surgically resected high-risk melanoma, The potential for cases of IFN-associated autoimmune disease is therefore a clinical concern, Standard side effects of high-dose IFN therapy resemble symptoms of auto-immune diseases, which may make prompt diagnosis difficult. Therefore, it is important that auto-immune diseases such as dermatomyositis are recognized as potential side effects of treatment with high-dose IFN alpha.