Antimelanoma immunotherapy: clinical and preclinical applications of IL-12 family members

作者：Nagai Hiroshi^*; Oniki Shuntaro; Fujiwara Susumu; Yoshimoto Takayuki; Nishigori Chikako

来源：Immunotherapy, 2010, 2(5): 697-709.

DOI：10.2217/IMT.10.46

• adverse effect
• antiangiogenesis
• antiproliferation
• IFN-gamma
• IL-12
• IL-23
• IL-27
• immunotherapy
• melanoma

Malignant melanoma has been considered a prototypical 'immunogenic' tumor through clinical observations, such as the spontaneous regression of primary lesions, their higher incidence in immune-suppressed individuals, and the development of vitiligo after immunotherapy. Among many cytokines, IL-12 is one of the best characterized and the most potent anti-tumor cytokines. Although the systemic application of IL-12 resulted in disappointing results owing to its considerable toxicity, IL-12 is not entirely unusable in the clinical setting. IL-12-related cytokines, IL-23 and IL-27, have also been shown to possess anti-tumor activities in preclinical models. Although belonging to the same cytokine family, IL-12, IL-23 and IL-27 were found to have different anti-tumor mechanisms, adjuvant activity for tumor vaccines and adverse effects in a poorly immunogeneic melanoma model. In addition, their novel activities on melanoma have been clarified. We briefly review the key features of these members of the IL-12 cytokine family and discuss their potential relevance to melanoma immunity and antimelanoma immunotherapy.

• 出版日期2010-9