Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Apr;26(2):121-31.
doi: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2014.12.006. Epub 2014 Dec 30.

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

Guido Antonelli  1 , Carolina Scagnolari  1 , Federica Moschella  2 , Enrico Proietti  3
Affiliations
Review

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

Guido Antonelli et al. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 2015 Apr.

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timetable of the most relevant findings in the clinical exploitation of type I IFN in infectious diseases.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Timetable of the most relevant findings in the clinical exploitation of type I IFN in oncology.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pieters T. Routledge; London and New York: 2005. Interferon: the science and selling of a miracle drug.
    1. Isaacs A., Lindenmann J. Virus interference. I. The interferon. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1957;147:258–267. - PubMed
    1. Gresser I. Production of interferon by suspensions of human leucocytes. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1961;108:799–803. - PubMed
    1. Strander H., Cantell K. Production of interferon by human leukocytes in vitro. Ann Med Exp Biol Fenn. 1966;44:265–273. - PubMed
    1. Strander H., Adamson U., Aparisi T., Brostrom L.A., Cantell K., Einhorn S. Adjuvant interferon treatment of human osteosarcoma. Recent Results Cancer Res. 1978;68:40–44. - PubMed

MeSH terms