User:Mr. Ibrahem/Interferon alfa

Interferon alfa is a group of medications used to treat a number of cancers and viral infections. Cancers it is used for include kidney, melanoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia, Kaposi's sarcoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Types of infections it is used for include hepatitis B and hepatitis C. It is typically given by injection under the skin.

Common side effects include fever, headache, joint pains, tiredness, hair loss, depression, shortness of breath, and low white blood cells. Other side effects may include liver problems and pancreatitis. It is a cytokine normally produced by the immune system. There are a number of types including interferon alfa-2a, interferon alfa-2b, and interferon alfa-n3. These may be pegylated (peginterferon alfa-2a and alfa-2b) to extend their duration of effect.

Interferon alfa was approved for medical use in the United States in the 1980s for cancer and the 1990s for hepatitis B and C. The pegylated version became available in 2000. Interferon alfa-2a is no longer made. In the United Kingdom peginterferon alfa-2a is commercially available.