Twenty-five years of type I interferon-based treatment: a critical analysis of its therapeutic use

Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 2015 Apr;26(2):121-31. doi: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2014.12.006. Epub 2014 Dec 30.

Abstract

The clinical exploitation of type I interferon (IFN) as an antiviral and antineoplastic agent is based on the properties originally attributed to this cytokine family, with schedules reflecting only their antiviral and antiproliferative activities. Nevertheless, type I IFN has emerged as a central activator of the innate immunity. As current schedules of treatment for chronic hepatitis C and for hematological and solid tumors, based on the continuous administration of recombinant type I IFN or pegylated formulations, disregard viral resistance, host genetic variants predicting treatment outcome and mechanisms of refractoriness, new administration schedules, the combination of type I IFN with new drugs and the increased monitoring of patients' susceptibility to type I IFN are expected to provide a new life to this valuable cytokine.

Keywords: Cancer; Interferon; Interferon therapy; Resistance to interferon therapy; Viral infection.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage
  • Antineoplastic Agents / immunology
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Antiviral Agents / administration & dosage
  • Antiviral Agents / immunology
  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Hepacivirus / drug effects
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic / drug therapy*
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Innate
  • Interferon Type I / administration & dosage
  • Interferon Type I / immunology
  • Interferon Type I / therapeutic use*
  • Interferon-alpha / administration & dosage
  • Interferon-alpha / immunology
  • Interferon-alpha / therapeutic use
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Recombinant Proteins / administration & dosage
  • Recombinant Proteins / immunology
  • Recombinant Proteins / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Antiviral Agents
  • Interferon Type I
  • Interferon-alpha
  • Recombinant Proteins