# Peginterferon alfa-2b

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/peginterferon-alfa-2b/  
OnCo record `peginterferon-alfa-2b` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Peginterferon alfa-2b, a long-acting interferon, was approved in 2011 as Sylatron for melanoma that had spread to lymph nodes and been removed, to delay recurrence; checkpoint inhibitors have since replaced it in that role.

## Summary

Peginterferon alfa-2b was first approved in 2000 for chronic hepatitis C. The Sylatron formulation gained FDA approval in 2011 for adjuvant treatment of melanoma with microscopic or gross nodal involvement within 84 days of complete resection, based on the EORTC 18991 trial, in which five years of weekly injections improved relapse-free but not overall survival. Fatigue, depression and liver enzyme rises made most patients stop early. Adjuvant pembrolizumab, nivolumab and dabrafenib with trametinib have superseded interferon in resected stage III melanoma, and Sylatron was discontinued.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: gap-fill; chembl-universe
- Brand: Sylatron / PegIntron
- Modality: Pegylated type I interferon, weekly subcutaneous injection
- Mechanism: Interferon alfa-2b with a polyethylene glycol chain that slows clearance; it signals through IFNAR to stimulate immune cells and slow tumour growth.
- Approvals: US 2011: Adjuvant treatment of melanoma with nodal involvement after complete resection (Sylatron)

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peginterferon_alfa-2b
- Label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=peginterferon%20alfa-2b
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peginterferon_alfa-2b

## Connected records

- cancers: [Melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/melanoma/)
- technologies: [Cytokines & engineered cytokines](https://onco.cc/technologies/cytokine-therapy/)
- targets: [Interferon alpha receptor (IFNAR1)](https://onco.cc/targets/ifnar1/)
- drugs: [Interferon alfa-2a/2b](https://onco.cc/drugs/interferon-alfa/), [Pembrolizumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/pembrolizumab/)

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