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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.

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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

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