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Published on: December 17, 2019
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IL-2 and Beyond in Cancer Immunotherapy
John M Wrangle1, Alicia Patterson2, C Bryce Johnson2
11 Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, South Carolina.
Summary
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) revolutionized cancer immunotherapy, enabling direct lymphocyte manipulation. Newer growth factors and combinations aim to improve efficacy and reduce toxicity for better patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a critical T- and natural killer (NK) cell growth factor that initiated cancer immunotherapy.
- Recombinant IL-2 allows direct systemic manipulation of lymphocyte populations, showing efficacy in various metastatic cancers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the historical development of T- and NK cell growth factors.
- To highlight current and emerging combinatorial strategies involving these growth factors in cancer treatment.
Main Methods:
- Review of the literature on IL-2 and related T-cell growth factors.
- Analysis of clinical data regarding the efficacy and limitations of IL-2 therapy.
- Examination of ongoing research into novel growth factors and combination therapies.
Main Results:
- IL-2 monotherapy achieves clinical responses in up to 15% of metastatic cancer patients.
- Combination therapy with adoptive T-cell transfer enhances response rates to 50% in metastatic melanoma.
- Toxicity and regulatory T-cell expansion remain limitations of IL-2 therapy.
Conclusions:
- IL-2 has been pivotal in advancing cancer immunotherapy, offering durable responses in some patients.
- Ongoing research focuses on IL-15 and modified IL-2 to overcome IL-2 limitations.
- Combination therapies, including with immune checkpoint inhibitors, show promise for improved efficacy.
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