Interferon‐γ + and interleukin‐2 + T cells in peripheral blood from multiple myeloma patients in relation to disease status and maintenance therapy with interferon‐α2b (intron A)

Peripheral blood T cells from 83 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) were examined for the production of interferon-gamma (INF-gamma) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) using three-colour flow cytometry. Comparisons were made between the percentage of cytokine-positive lymphocytes in normal donors and in patients during remission or relapse. Patients were divided into those who were on maintenance therapy with interferon-alpha2b (intron A) and those who had no further treatment after high-dose melphalan (HDM) with or without autologous bone marrow (ABMR) or peripheral blood stem cell rescue (PBSCR). The percentage of INF gamma+/CD3+, INF gamma+/CD45RO+/CD3+ and IL-2+/CD8+ was higher in patients on INF alpha2b during remission and relapse compared with normal donors (P