ABSTRACT
Interleukins (IL) are a communication code naturally regulating the induction, progression and effector phases of the immune response. A lymphokine activated tumor inhibition (LATI) was induced by this treatment. While its efficacy depends on the tumor and the rIL injected, it nonetheless displays many hallmark features. LATI is consistently marked by infiltration of many granulocytes and mononuclear cells, and a few lymphocytes. In the presence of rILs, T-iymphocytes and NK cells become able to directly kill tumor cells. The non-specific immune cells, thus guided and boosted by multiple T-lymphocyte messages, efficiently perform their lytic activity. Moreover, the cytokines sustaining the inflammatory phases apparently build a favorable milieu for tumor recognition and induction of a tumor-specific, systemic and persistent immunity. Local application of exogenous rILs to increase tumor immunogenicity is a powerful tool that could become a medical procedure, since the peritumoral administration of low doses of rILs is simple and inexpensive.
