Interferon-induced obsessive-compulsive symptoms in malignant melanoma.

Immunotherapy with alpha-interferon (IFN-α) is currently used as adjuvant treatment in patients with malignant melanoma. Psychiatric side effects such depression, mania or psychosis during treatment with IFN-α have been well documented in the literature. In comparison, however, data on interferon-induced obsessive-compulsive disorder are rare. We report here the case of a 23-year-old woman who developed obsessive-compulsive symptoms for the first time during interferon therapy after excision of a malignant melanoma.