title: Interferon: current status and future prospects in cancer therapy.
abstract: Type I interferons (IFNs) exhibit antiproliferative activity and apoptotic effects, and regulate an immune response by activating multiple cells types, including dendritic cells, cytotoxic T cells, and natural killer cells. Most recently, a report in the literature identified dysfunctional induction of a type I IFN response in cancer stem cells--specifically, breast cancer-initiating cells, implicating this defect in progression to breast cancer. Indeed, accumulating evidence suggests that cancer stem cells/cancer-initiating cells are prevalent in leukemias and solid tumors, are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and therefore likely contribute to tumor recurrence. IFN-β treatment of human glioma xenografts leads to disruption of the vascular niche of glioma stem cells, in further support of a potential therapeutic effect of IFN treatment in limiting cancer stem cells. The implications are that restoring an IFN response, or enhancing an IFN response, may invoke a reduction, or elimination of both cancer stem cells and tumor cells. In this review, the clinical application of type I IFNs, mainly IFN-αs, will be reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Ben X
authors.initials: BX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ramtin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rahbar
authors.forename: Eleanor N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Fish
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007938:Leukemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D055153:Stem Cell Niche / Q000187:drug effects; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I