Polyarthritis during interferon alpha therapy : 3 cases and review of the literature

Several autoimmune disorders have been described during interferon therapy, but polyarthritis is uncommon. Three patients (one with melanoma and two with cutaneous T cell lymphoma) who developed polyarthritis during interferon alpha therapy are described, and 11 cases from the literature are reviewed. In two of our three patients, polyarthritis did not improve when interferon was stopped. This study suggests that interferon alpha can induce, or more probably reveal, polyarthritis. We also discuss the possible role of anti-perinuclear factor (APF) as a predictive factor.