title: The use of interleukins for advanced melanoma.
abstract: Treatment of metastatic melanoma using traditional chemotherapy regimens has been disappointing. However, recent work with agents that modify the host's immune system (e.g., interleukins) have provided limited but encouraging results. Interleukins are a group of molecules involved in immune cell signaling. As a high-dose, single agent therapy, Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has produced durable, complete responses in a small, but real percentage of metastatic melanoma patients, but toxicities are significant and specialized care is required. The use of IL-2 in conjunction with other chemotherapeutic and biologic agents has produced an even higher percentage of complete responses, but the trials have been relatively small to date and durability is not as well proven. IL-2 is also being tested in conjunction with vaccines, activated immune cells, and other biologic response modifiers (including IL-12). It is hoped that these will lead to further increases in the number of metastatic melanoma patients who respond in a clinically meaningful fashion.
authors.affiliation: Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology Group, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007378:Interleukins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D007378:Interleukins