Targeting head and neck cancer by IL-2-mediated gene therapy: From bench to bedside - A review.

Targeting Head and Neck Cancer by IL-2-Mediated Gene Therapy: From Bench to Bedside - A Review. Suppressed cellular immunity is common in patients wit h squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). It was demonstrated in previous studies that administration of interleukin 2 (IL-2) results in enhanced antitumoral immunity in vitro as well as in vivo. Since the serum half-life of IL-2 is relatively short, repeated applications are necessary to achieve therapeutically effective serum concentrations, but this strate gy might cause severe side effects. Therefore, methods that provide high lo cal cytokine levels over a prolonged period of time without the need for re peated injections are desirable. Gene therapy as an innovative treatment ap proach using tumor cells stably transduced to produce IL-2 might meet these criteria. In vitro manipulated tumor cells, if readministered in the vicin ity of non-manipulated tumor cells, may enhance a specific anti-tumor respo nse in vivo without systemic side effects. The present manuscript reviews t he current literature dealing with IL-2-protein and -gene therapy with spec ial emphasis on head and neck cancer. Our own in vitro results with IL-2 ge ne therapy in conjunction with published data from other authors argue in f avour of an in vivo approach for this therapeutic strategy that is currentl y in progress in our department.