ABSTRACT
Immunomodulatory therapies represent a diverse range of approaches including protein-based therapies, small-molecules, antibodies and vaccines, and cell-based treatments produced by extracting human cells followed by genetic engineering and re-infusion. This chapter begins with a general introduction to the area, and then covers the major subfamilies of cytokine therapies (i.e., interferons, interleukins and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor), prophylactic and treatment vaccines, and adoptive cell-based therapies based on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), T cells, natural killer cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages. Small-molecule immunomodulatory agents are also discussed. Approved therapies and agents within each subfamily are described in detail along with information relating to their discovery, mechanism of action, clinical activity, and the mechanism-based toxicity. Prominent clinical-stage experimental agents within each subfamily are also described. The chapter does not discuss immunomodulatory antibodies which are covered in Chapter 7.
