Prospects for the clinical use of exogenous interferon.

Sufficient quantities of human leukocyte interferon have become available for small-scale clinical studies during the past years. The present status of the interferon treatment of respiratory infections, herpes keratitis, hepatitis B, osteogenic sarcoma, and some other tumours is surveyed. The pharmaco-kinetic and toxicological data obtained are summarized. The first clinical experiments with human fibroblast interferon have also been started. The prospects for mass production of human interferons for clinical use are discussed briefly.