Pegasys® in Patients With Myeloproliferative Diseases

IFN-alpha2a has been used for the treatment of a variety of disorders (such as hepatitis C). IFN-alpha2a is a drug that may affect the way infections and malignant diseases develop. Before treatment starts, you will have blood (around 2 teaspoons) and bone marrow samples collected. To collect a bone marrow sample, an area of the hip or chest bone is numbed with anesthetic and a small amount of bone marrow is withdrawn through a large needle. These samples will be used for tests to confirm the diagnosis of the disease. Women who are able to have children must have a negative blood pregnancy test. During treatment, you will receive IFN-alpha2a as an injection under the skin once a week. You (or your caregiver) will be taught how to give the injections, and you will receive treatment on an outpatient basis. Treatment will continue (injections once a week) as long as the disease does not get worse. If the disease gets worse or you experience any intolerable side effects, you will be taken off the study and your doctor will discuss other treatment options with you. During treatment you will have blood (around 1 teaspoon) collected every other week for 2 months, then once every 1 or 2 months for a year, then every 3 months. You will also have bone marrow samples collected every 3 to 6 months during the first year of treatment. After the first year of treatment, bone marrow samples will be collected only when your doctor feels they are needed. The blood and bone marrow samples will be used for tests to check on the response to therapy. This is an investigational study. IFN-alpha2a has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of hepatitis C and is commercially available. However the use of IFN-alpha2a in this study is investigational. The commercial prepartion of IFN-alpha2a(Pegasys) will be used in this study. Up to 280 participants will take part in this study. All will be enrolled at M. D. Anderson.