Residual acute confusional and hallucinatory syndromes induced by interleukin‐2/α‐interferon treatment

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Abstract
Psychiatric effects of biological response modifier therapies have been repeatedly cited in anecdotal fashion, often without thorough symptom description and evaluation. We thus thought it was important to closely monitor the occurrence of psychiatric side‐effects in cancer patients with such therapies. Two patients from a series of 12 undergoing intravenous interleukin‐2/α‐interferon treatment for metastatic melanoma and thoroughly screened for psychiatric disorders showed transient, predominantly hallucinatory confusional syndromes occurring or persisting several days after the termination of interleukin‐2/α‐interferon infusions. No pre‐existing psychiatric disease or concurrent somatic distress were present when the syndromes occurred, making it extremely likely that they were due to direct action of the lymphokines on the brain. The only other drugs with psychotropic effects simultaneously taken were minor tranquilizers. Patients undergoing lymphokine treatments should be carefully screened for such reactions and research on causal factors and preventive or curative measures should be undertaken.