title: Site-specific delivery of cytokines in cancer.
abstract: Cytokines can stimulate the immune response by directly activating effector cells and/or by inducing the release of secondary cytostatic or immunomodulatory molecules. Systemic administration of cytokines, however, often causes numerous side effects in the patient and may not provide a constant level at the tumor site, owing to the variable and generally short half-lifes of cytokines. This has led to the development of novel strategies to deliver cytokines specifically to tumor sites in vivo. These include: the use of monoclonal antibodies directed against tumor antigens; cellular vehicles designed to carry genes to tumor sites; genetically engineered tumor cell vaccines; and targetable viral vectors.
authors.affiliation: Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada. hans@terryfox.ubc.ca
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Klingemann
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Dougherty
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines