ABSTRACT
When recombinant cytokines became available, they were used in clinical trials for therapy of a wide range of diseases, but with limited success. Thus, although cytokines are critical to the development of specific immune responses, when used alone they primarily enhance nonspecific activation of immune cells (Section B2). To be effective against tumors or other diseases, it is clear that, in most cases, cytokines will need to be used in concert with induction of more specific immune responses to the tumor or 329disease. Even so, IL-2 and some of the interferons (primarily IFNα), have been approved for therapy (Table 1). Moreover, IFNα remains a standard treatment for patients with melanoma. Other cytokines, including IL-17, IL-15, IL-21, and IL-37 are in late stages of development.
