Hypertriglyceridemia may be severe in CML patients treated with interferon‐α

Abstract
We analyzed serum triglyceride (TG) levels in 22 chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients treated with interferon‐α (IFN‐α). Hypertriglyceridemia was present in one‐half of patients at diagnosis, and IFN‐α treatment was associated with a further increase in 90% of the total group of patients. This increase was maximal during the first months of therapy. Four patients (18%) reached levels higher than 1,000 mg/dl. This is the first report describing this secondary effect in CML patients treated with IFN‐α.