Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy with interleukin-2 (IL-2) has demonstrated long term disease control in metastatic renal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. With introduction of novel kinase inhibitors, immunomodulatory molecules, cytokines, and vaccines for treatment of cancer there is an increased interest in combining these therapeutic strategies with IL-2. Here we discuss toxicity and established activity of IL-2 in the management of advanced malignancies, and speculate on future use of this cytokine for treatment of cancer.

Keywords: Interleukin-2, kidney cancer, melanoma, immunotherapy, Cancer Therapy, (IL-2), cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, (IL-2R), phosphorylation, tyrosine kinase, TNF alpha and beta, T-cells, transient fever, lymphopenia, Metastatic Melanoma, Renal Cell Cancer, renal cell carcinoma, IL-2 therapy, HIGH DOSE IL-2, fever, chills, lethargy, diarrhea, nausea, anemia, thrombocytopenia, eosinophilia, hepatic enzymes elevation, erythroderma, confusion, eosinophilic myocarditis, cardiac stress test, (Eastern Coopera-tive Oncology Group Scale, Interferon, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), Phase III clinical trial, Phase II clinical trial, biochemotherapy (BCT), Interferon-alpha, inhibitors, metastatic kidney cancer, malig-nant melanoma