The efficacy and safety of methotrexate versus interferon in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas

Objectives: Methotrexate (MTX) and interferon (IFN) have been used in the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) of various subtypes. We review our experience of MTX and IFN use in our patients with CTCL at a tertiary hospital.Materials and methods: Medical records of patients over 4 years were reviewed. We describe the dosages, time to response, response rates, side effects, progression rate, and reasons for discontinuation.Results: Response rate was significantly higher in the IFN group than MTX group (86.67% and 47.4% respectively, p=.01). Disease progression occurred 57.89% in the MTX group whilst only 26.67% progressed with IFN therapy. Patients taking IFN therapy experienced proportionally more side effects of any type than those undertaking MTX treatment (86.67% vs. 47.37%, odds ratio 7.22). However, discontinuation rate in the IFN group (26.67%) was much lower than in the MTX arm (89.47%).Conclusions: The most significant finding of this study was that patients with CTCL treated with IFN had a better response rate and significantly shorter response time compared with those treated with MTX. Additionally, patients had less disease progression on IFN than with MTX regardless of subtype of T-cell lymphoma and stage of disease.