Which immunological parameters ave clinically essential to monitor IL-2 cancer immunotherapy?

The evaluation of the immunobiological changes occuring during IL-2 cancer immunotherapy is not only Important to correlate them with the clinical res ponse or to understand the immune mechanism Involved in tumor growth contro l, but also to predict the efficacy of treatment itself. As far as the immu ne status of patients prior to therapy is concerned, the evidence of the ac tivation of the inflammatory response correlates with resistance to IL-2. T herefore, the evidence of abnormally high pretreatment values of inflammato ry response markers, including ESR, CRP, neopterin and SIL-2R, may predict a lack of IL-2 efficacy. In contrast, changes in inflammatory parameters du ring IL-2 administration have no prognostic significance. The evidence of e levated pretreatment levers of the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10 has als o an unfavourable prognostic significance. At the other side, the evidence of a marked increase in hemopoietic cells involved in tumor cell destructio n, such as lymphocytes and eosinophils, as well as in blood levels of antit umor cytokines, such as IL-12, correlates with efficacy of IL-2 cancer immu notherapy. A better definition of the prognostic significance of immunoinfl ammatory markers will allow us to manipulate and improve host biological re sponse during cancer immunotherapy with IL-2.