INTERFERON THERAPY IN CANCER

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

INTERFERON THERAPY IN CANCER

Principles of Cancer Biotherapy. Second Edition. Oldham RK, ed. New York, Marcel Dekker, p. 363-93, 1991.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/92686022
Goldstein D; Laszlo J; Rudnick SA; Smalley RV; Center for Immunology, Sydney, Australia

Abstract: Interferon (IFN) was first characterized in 1957, but clinical trials only began in the 1970s. Data from large-scale trials did not support the notion of widespread efficacy of IFN, but rather delineated a clearer, but narrower, role. The potential mechanisms of action of IFNs as direct antineoplastic agents and as immunomodulators are numerous and have diverse implications. IFN therapy is reviewed, including modes of action (antiviral activity, antiproliferative activity, immune modulation, and differentiation, and antigen expression); clinical trials (nomenclature, dose and response, and schedule); group I (hematologic disorders: hairy-cell leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, chronic lymphatic leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia); group II (melanoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, renal carcinoma and myeloma); and group III (Phase I-II studies or recombinant IFNs and toxicity). Possibly the most important contribution made by the development of IFN may prove to have been the impetus to create a new era in recombinant DNA technology as a means of manufacturing complex biological derivatives for pharmaceutical use. Considerable progress has been and will be made with the use of IFN in virus-induced disorders and possibly in the prophylaxis for neoplasms associated with specific viruses. IFN as a single agent clearly has an established, but limited, role in the treatment of malignant disease. Future discoveries may include ways of using its pleiotropic effects on the human body in the treatment of malignancy. (257 Refs)

Keywords: Adjuvants, Immunologic/THERAPEUTIC USE Antigens, Neoplasm Antiviral Agents Cell Differentiation/DRUG EFFECTS Cell Division/DRUG EFFECTS Clinical Trials Dose-Response Relationship, Drug Human Interferons/PHARMACOLOGY/*THERAPEUTIC USE Neoplasms/IMMUNOLOGY/*THERAPY MONOGRAPH REVIEW, ACADEMIC REVIEW
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