Many drugs can cause psychiatric symptoms, but a causal connection is often difficult to establish. Psychiatric symptoms that emerge during drug treatment could also be due to the underlying illness, previously unrecognized psychopathology, or psychosocial factors. The withdrawal of some drugs can cause symptoms such as anxiety, psychosis, delirium, agitation or depression.

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The drugs of choice for treatment of non-HIV viral infections with their dosages and cost are listed in Tables 1-6. Some of the indications and dosages recommended here have not been approved by the FDA. Vaccines used in the prevention of viral infections are discussed in the "Adult Immunization" issue of Treatment Guidelines.

The drugs of choice for non-HIV viral infections with their dosages and cost are listed in the tables that begin on page 24. Some of the indications and dosages recommended here have not been approved by the FDA.

The tables in this article list drugs used for treatment of cancer in the USA and Canada and their major adverse effects. The choice of drugs in Table I is based on the opinions of Medical Letter consultants. Some drugs are listed for indications for which they have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. In some cases, such as elderly patients or those with many co-morbid illnesses, the regimen of choice might not be suitable. For many of the cancers listed, surgery and/or radiation therapy may be the treatment of choice or may also be part of the management. Anticancer drugs and their adverse effects are listed in Table II on page 46. A partial list of brand names appears on page 52.

Many drugs can cause psychiatric symptoms, but a causal connection is often difficult to establish. Psychiatric symptoms that emerge during drug treatment may also be due to the underlying illness, previously unrecognized psychopathology, or psychosocial factors. The withdrawal of some drugs can cause symptoms such as anxiety, psychosis, delirium, agitation or depression.

The drugs of choice for non-HIV viral infections with their dosages and cost are listed in the table that begins on the next page. Since the last Medical Letter issue on this subject, some new drugs and some new recommendations for old drugs have been added.

Imatinib mesylate (STI-571; Gleevec - Novartis), an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has received accelerated approval from the FDA for treatment of all phases of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) after interferon has failed.

The tables in this article list drugs used for treatment of cancer in the USA and Canada. The choices of drugs in Table 1 is based on the opinions of Medical Letter consultants. Some drugs are listed for indications for which they have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. For many of the cancers listed, surgery and/or radiation therapy are also part of the management of the disease.

The drugs of choice for non-HIV viral infections with their dosages and cost are listed in the [article's] table.

The drugs of choice for non-HIV viral infections with their dosages and cost are listed in the table on the next page. The treatment of HIV infection will be discussed in a future issue.

The tables that follow list drugs used for treatment of cancer in the USA and Canada and their major adverse effects. The choice of drugs in Table I is based on the opinions of Medical Letter consultants. Some drugs are listed for indications for which they have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. For most of the cancers listed, surgery and/or radiation therapy are part of the management of the disease. Anticancer drugs and their adverse effects are listed in Table II.

Pentostatin (2'-deoxycoformycin; DCF; - Parke-Davis), a purine analog, was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of hairy-cell leukemia resistant to interferon alfa (Intron A; Roferon-A). is a rare (500 cases/year in the USA) form of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Acutely ill patients may respond rapidly to interferon, but the drug is rarely curative. Another purine analog, 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (CdA; Leustatin - Ortho Biotech), may also be approved soon for treatment of hairy-cell leukemia (JD Piro, Blood, 79:843, 1992). Fludarabine (Fludara -Medical Letter, 33:89, 1991), a third purine analog, is approved for treatment of refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. All three drugs are investigational for use in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Since the last review of this topic (Medical Letter, 32:73, August 10, 1990) some new antiviral agents have been approved and the indications for several others expanded. The drugs of choice for viral infections are listed in the table on page 36.

Recombinant alpha interferon has been marketed in the USA for treatment of hairy-cell leukemia, genital warts, and AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma (Medical Letter, 28:78, 1986; 30:70, 1988). Recent reports indicate it may also be useful for treatment of chronic viral hepatitis. Recombinant alpha interferon is available as alfa-2a (Roferon-A - Roche) or alfa-2b (Intron A - Schering), which are identical except for one amino acid.