Cytokines (IL-2, IFN, GM-CSF, etc.) Melanoma

February 10, 2020

Abstract

Treatment of advanced stage melanoma has recently undergone a revolutionary change. Prior to 2011 dacarbazine and interleukin-2 were the only treatment options with both demonstrating no impact on overall survival. However, the experience with and results with IL-2 therapy have stimulated development of novel immunotherapies in this disease. IL-2 was the first immunotherapy to be approved for patients with metastatic melanoma and produced durable complete remissions in about 6% of patients. The accompanying toxicity, however, limited the widespread use of IL-2 therapy. In contrast, interferon-alpha despite its important role in the adjuvant setting, never showed a significant response rate or any survival benefit in patients with stage IV disease.
Currently, due to the highly successful revival of immunotherapy with the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting CTLA4 and PD1 on T-lymphocytes, the exploration of cytokines such as IL-2, IFN-a and others, now in conjunction with immune checkpoint inhibition or adoptive cell therapy has been rejuvenated in this disease.
This chapter summarizes the development and use of cytokines as single agents or in combination in the treatment of patients with advanced metastatic melanoma.

Source:

Haanen J.B.A.G., Sullivan R.J., Kirkwood J.M., Atkins M.B., Schwartzentruber D.J. (2020) Cytokines (IL-2, IFN, GM-CSF, etc.) Melanoma. In: Balch C. et al. (eds) Cutaneous Melanoma. Springer, Cham

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-030-05070-2_56