title: Twenty-five years of type I interferon-based treatment: a critical analysis of its therapeutic use.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, Pasteur Institute-Cenci Bolognetti Foundation, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Antonelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, Pasteur Institute-Cenci Bolognetti Foundation, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scagnolari
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moschella
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: enrico.proietti@iss.it.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Proietti
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D007370:Interferon Type I; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
keywords: Cancer; Interferon; Interferon therapy; Resistance to interferon therapy; Viral infection