Interferon alfa-2b
RxNorm 5880
Concept Hierarchy & Relationship Mapping
RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier (RxCUI) 5880 represents a standardized clinical drug concept used for cross-system interoperability. This concept aggregates multiple Atom IDs (AUIs), which are specific naming variations and synonyms used across pharmaceutical databases to ensure accurate medication mapping for: Interferon alfa-2b.
The following semantic concepts and normalized strings are associated with this clinical entity:
This clinical crossover tool is designed for healthcare professionals, pharmacists, and data analysts to safely compare substitute products and manage medication interoperability.
Ingredient (IN):
Interferon alfa-2b
(Atom ID: 12253311)
Designated preferred name (PT):
Interferon alfa-2b
(Atom ID: 9251276)
Full form of descriptor (FN):
Interferon alfa-2b (substance)
(Atom ID: 9251277)
Designated preferred name (PT):
Interferon alfa-2b-containing product
(Atom ID: 10805200)
Full form of descriptor (FN):
Product containing interferon alfa-2b (medicinal product)
(Atom ID: 9724643)
Patient Education
Interferon Alfa-2b Injection
Interferon alfa-2b injection is used to treat a number of conditions. Interferon alfa-2b injection is used alone or in combination with ribavirin (Copegus, Rebetol, Ribasphere) to treat chronic (long-term) hepatitis C infection (swelling of the liver caused by a virus) in people who show signs of liver damage, to treat chronic hepatitis B infection (swelling of the liver caused by a virus) in people who show signs of liver damage, to treat hairy cell leukemia (a white blood cell cancer), to treat genital warts, to treat Kaposi's sarcoma (a type of cancer that causes abnormal tissue to grow on different parts of the body) related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), to treat malignant melanoma (a cancer that begins in certain skin cells) in certain people who have had surgery to remove the cancer, along with another medication to treat follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL; a slow-growing blood cancer). Interferon alfa-2b is in a class of medications called immunomodulators. Interferon alfa-2b works to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) by decreasing the amount virus in the body. Interferon alfa-2b may not cure hepatitis B or hepatitis C or prevent you from developing complications from these infections such as cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver failure, or liver cancer. It also may not prevent the spread of hepatitis B or C to other people. It is not known exactly how interferon alfa-2b works to treat cancer or genital warts.
[Learn More]
Cancer Chemotherapy
Normally, your cells grow and die in a controlled way. Cancer cells keep growing without control. Chemotherapy is drug therapy for cancer. It works by killing the cancer cells, stopping them from spreading, or slowing their growth. However, it can also harm healthy cells, which causes side effects.
You may have a lot of side effects, some, or none at all. It depends on the type and amount of chemotherapy you get and how your body reacts. Some common side effects are fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain, and hair loss. There are ways to prevent or control some side effects. Talk with your health care provider about how to manage them. Healthy cells usually recover after chemotherapy is over, so most side effects gradually go away.
Your treatment plan will depend on the cancer type, the chemotherapy drugs used, the treatment goal, and how your body responds. Chemotherapy may be given alone or with other treatments. You may get treatment every day, every week, or every month. You may have breaks between treatments so that your body has a chance to build new healthy cells. You might take the drugs by mouth, in a shot, as a cream, or intravenously (by IV).
NIH: National Cancer Institute
[Learn More]
* Please review the disclaimer below.
