ABSTRACT
Randomized clinical trials have shown that high-dose adjuvant interferon-α (IFNα) can increase relapse-free and possibly overall survival after surgery for high-risk lesions and IFNα was therefore approved by the US With the new tools that are available for the evaluation of immunologic therapies, it is possible that great strides could be made in our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the antitumor actions of IFNα. Consequently, it is important that scientists and physicians work together so that rational improvements can be made in the use ofIFNα in the clinical setting. The available data suggested that IFNα acted to inhibit the proliferation of malignant cells and stimulate immune effectors and might therefore have activity in setting of advanced disease. The cellular events underlying IFNα-induced signal transduction and gene regulation in immune effectors and tumor cells were elucidated, beginning in the early 1990s, and the discoveries have provided important clues as to its mechanism of action as a therapeutic agent for cancer.
