{"entity":{"id":"cytokine-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Cytokines & engineered cytokines","aka":[],"tldr":"Cytokine therapy gives immune-signalling proteins as drugs. High-dose interleukin-2 was the first immunotherapy to cure some melanomas, at great toxicity.","summary":"High-dose IL-2 and interferon-alpha are historic. Engineered IL-2 (bempegaldesleukin failed), IL-15 superagonists (nogapendekin alfa/Anktiva, approved 2024 with BCG in bladder cancer), IL-12 (tavokinogene, intratumoural), and tumour-targeted immunocytokines are the modern forms. IL-2 remains part of TIL therapy regimens.","status":"approved","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine"}],"tags":[],"related":["immunocytokines"],"cancers":["urothelial","melanoma","rcc"],"sections":["immunotherapy"],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":["lenograstim","peginterferon-alfa-2b","oprelvekin"],"companies":["amunix-pharmaceuticals","asher-bio","geneos-therapeutics","granza-bio","strand-therapeutics","synsorybio","werewolf-therapeutics","xilio-therapeutics"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Systemic or targeted delivery of T- and NK-cell growth factors.","strengths":["Potent immune expansion"],"limitations":["Systemic toxicity; preferential Treg expansion (IL-2)"]},"route":"/technologies/cytokine-therapy/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"engineered-bacteria-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Engineered bacteria as living cancer drugs","route":"/technologies/engineered-bacteria-therapy/"},{"id":"immunocytokines","kind":"technology","name":"Immunocytokines (antibody-cytokine fusions)","route":"/technologies/immunocytokines/"},{"id":"in-situ-vaccination","kind":"technology","name":"In situ vaccination","route":"/technologies/in-situ-vaccination/"},{"id":"il12-electroporation","kind":"technology","name":"Intratumoural gene electrotransfer (IL-12 plasmid)","route":"/technologies/il12-electroporation/"},{"id":"til-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"TIL therapy","route":"/technologies/til-therapy/"},{"id":"trained-innate-immunity","kind":"technology","name":"Trained innate immunity","route":"/technologies/trained-innate-immunity/"}],"cancer":[{"id":"urothelial","kind":"cancer","name":"Bladder & urothelial cancer","route":"/cancers/urothelial/"},{"id":"bpdcn","kind":"cancer","name":"Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN)","route":"/cancers/bpdcn/"},{"id":"melanoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Melanoma","route":"/cancers/melanoma/"},{"id":"myeloproliferative-neoplasms","kind":"cancer","name":"Myeloproliferative neoplasms (PV, ET, myelofibrosis)","route":"/cancers/myeloproliferative-neoplasms/"},{"id":"rcc","kind":"cancer","name":"Renal cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/rcc/"}],"section":[{"id":"immunotherapy","kind":"section","name":"Immunotherapy","route":"/fronts/immunotherapy/"}],"drug":[{"id":"aldesleukin","kind":"drug","name":"Aldesleukin (high-dose IL-2)","route":"/drugs/aldesleukin/"},{"id":"bempegaldesleukin","kind":"drug","name":"Bempegaldesleukin","route":"/drugs/bempegaldesleukin/"},{"id":"eflapegrastim","kind":"drug","name":"Eflapegrastim","route":"/drugs/eflapegrastim/"},{"id":"elritercept","kind":"drug","name":"Elritercept","route":"/drugs/elritercept/"},{"id":"histamine-dihydrochloride","kind":"drug","name":"Histamine dihydrochloride","route":"/drugs/histamine-dihydrochloride/"},{"id":"interferon-alfa","kind":"drug","name":"Interferon alfa-2a/2b","route":"/drugs/interferon-alfa/"},{"id":"lenograstim","kind":"drug","name":"Lenograstim","route":"/drugs/lenograstim/"},{"id":"mifamurtide","kind":"drug","name":"Mifamurtide","route":"/drugs/mifamurtide/"},{"id":"nogapendekin-alfa","kind":"drug","name":"Nogapendekin alfa inbakicept","route":"/drugs/nogapendekin-alfa/"},{"id":"oprelvekin","kind":"drug","name":"Oprelvekin","route":"/drugs/oprelvekin/"},{"id":"peginterferon-alfa-2b","kind":"drug","name":"Peginterferon alfa-2b","route":"/drugs/peginterferon-alfa-2b/"},{"id":"ropeginterferon-alfa-2b","kind":"drug","name":"Ropeginterferon alfa-2b","route":"/drugs/ropeginterferon-alfa-2b/"},{"id":"sargramostim","kind":"drug","name":"Sargramostim","route":"/drugs/sargramostim/"},{"id":"tasonermin","kind":"drug","name":"Tasonermin","route":"/drugs/tasonermin/"}],"company":[{"id":"amunix-pharmaceuticals","kind":"company","name":"Amunix Pharmaceuticals","route":"/companies/amunix-pharmaceuticals/"},{"id":"asher-bio","kind":"company","name":"Asher Biotherapeutics","route":"/companies/asher-bio/"},{"id":"cytomx-therapeutics","kind":"company","name":"CytomX Therapeutics","route":"/companies/cytomx-therapeutics/"},{"id":"geneos-therapeutics","kind":"company","name":"Geneos Therapeutics","route":"/companies/geneos-therapeutics/"},{"id":"granza-bio","kind":"company","name":"Granza Bio","route":"/companies/granza-bio/"},{"id":"strand-therapeutics","kind":"company","name":"Strand Therapeutics","route":"/companies/strand-therapeutics/"},{"id":"synsorybio","kind":"company","name":"SynsoryBio","route":"/companies/synsorybio/"},{"id":"werewolf-therapeutics","kind":"company","name":"Werewolf Therapeutics","route":"/companies/werewolf-therapeutics/"},{"id":"xilio-therapeutics","kind":"company","name":"Xilio Therapeutics","route":"/companies/xilio-therapeutics/"}],"trial":[{"id":"nct06710288","kind":"trial","name":"A Phase 2, Open-label, Single-arm Study Of Autologous M-CENK Adoptive Cell Therapy And N-803 (IL-15 Superagonist) In Combination With Gemcitabine In P","route":"/trials/nct06710288/"},{"id":"nct05482971","kind":"trial","name":"A Single-arm, Multicenter Study to Assess the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of P1101 in Adults With ET","route":"/trials/nct05482971/"},{"id":"nct06499285","kind":"trial","name":"A Study of Elritercept to Treat Anemia in Adults With Very Low, Low, or Intermediate Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Who Need Regular B","route":"/trials/nct06499285/"},{"id":"nct05485948","kind":"trial","name":"A Study to Access Efficacy and Safety of P1101 in Chinese PV Patients Who Are Intolerant or Resistance to HU","route":"/trials/nct05485948/"},{"id":"nct05481151","kind":"trial","name":"A Study to Assess Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of P1101 in Adult Patients With PV","route":"/trials/nct05481151/"},{"id":"nct04570423","kind":"trial","name":"A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Eflapegrastim in Pediatric Participants With Solid Tumors or Lymphomas and Treated With Myelosuppressive Chemotherapy","route":"/trials/nct04570423/"},{"id":"nct06745908","kind":"trial","name":"Clinical Trial of N-803 Plus Tislelizumab or Prior Failed Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor and Docetaxel Versus Docetaxel Monotherapy in Participants With Advanced or Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Who Have Acquired Resistance to Immune Checkpoint In","route":"/trials/nct06745908/"},{"id":"nct04655092","kind":"trial","name":"Extension Study of P1101 After Completion of Phase 2 Study in PV Patients or Phase 3 Study in ET Patients","route":"/trials/nct04655092/"},{"id":"low-pv","kind":"trial","name":"Low-PV","route":"/trials/low-pv/"},{"id":"nct06061809","kind":"trial","name":"N-803 and PD-L1 t-haNK Combined With Bevacizumab for Recurrent or Progressive Glioblastoma","route":"/trials/nct06061809/"},{"id":"nct06468033","kind":"trial","name":"P1101 in Treating Patients With Early PMF or Overt PMF at Low or Intermediate-1 Risk","route":"/trials/nct06468033/"},{"id":"proud-pv","kind":"trial","name":"PROUD-PV and CONTINUATION-PV","route":"/trials/proud-pv/"},{"id":"quilt-3-032","kind":"trial","name":"QUILT 3.032","route":"/trials/quilt-3-032/"},{"id":"nct04285086","kind":"trial","name":"Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b (P1101) vs. Anagrelide in Essential Thrombocythemia Patients With Hydroxyurea Resistance or Intolerance","route":"/trials/nct04285086/"},{"id":"study-0201","kind":"trial","name":"Study 0201","route":"/trials/study-0201/"},{"id":"nct05267626","kind":"trial","name":"Study of AU-007, A Monoclonal Antibody That Binds to IL-2 and Inhibits IL-2Rα Binding, in Patients With Unresectable Locally Advanced or Metastatic Ca","route":"/trials/nct05267626/"}],"pairing":[{"id":"il2-anti-gd2-caution","kind":"pairing","name":"Caution: IL-2 added to anti-GD2 therapy","route":"/pairings/il2-anti-gd2-caution/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"immunotherapy-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Immunotherapy roadmap: Coley's toxins → checkpoint inhibitors → engineered immunity","route":"/roadmaps/immunotherapy-roadmap/"}],"person":[{"id":"ignacio-melero","kind":"person","name":"Ignacio Melero","route":"/people/ignacio-melero/"},{"id":"michael-caligiuri","kind":"person","name":"Michael A. Caligiuri","route":"/people/michael-caligiuri/"},{"id":"robert-vonderheide","kind":"person","name":"Robert H. Vonderheide","route":"/people/robert-vonderheide/"},{"id":"steven-rosenberg","kind":"person","name":"Steven A. Rosenberg","route":"/people/steven-rosenberg/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-tme-immunosuppression","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Cold tumours and the immunosuppressive microenvironment","route":"/bottlenecks/b-tme-immunosuppression/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-bio2-engineered-bacteria-payloads","kind":"idea","name":"Engineered bacteria that live in tumours and manufacture drugs there","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-engineered-bacteria-payloads/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-tertiary-lymphoid-induction","kind":"idea","name":"Grow immune command posts inside tumours","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-tertiary-lymphoid-induction/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-inhaled-lung-niche-immunotherapy","kind":"idea","name":"Inhaled immune therapy to make the lung hostile to arriving tumour cells","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-inhaled-lung-niche-immunotherapy/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-oncolytic-regulated-il12","kind":"idea","name":"Oncolytic viruses that make interleukin-12 only inside the tumour","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-oncolytic-regulated-il12/"}],"term":[{"id":"cytokine","kind":"term","name":"Cytokine","route":"/terms/cytokine/"}],"institution":[{"id":"mit-koch","kind":"institution","name":"David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT","route":"/institutions/mit-koch/"},{"id":"nci-ccr","kind":"institution","name":"NCI Center for Cancer Research (intramural programme)","route":"/institutions/nci-ccr/"}],"pathway":[{"id":"nk-cell-recognition","kind":"pathway","name":"NK-cell recognition: missing self & stress ligands","route":"/pathways/nk-cell-recognition/"},{"id":"t-cell-exhaustion","kind":"pathway","name":"T-cell exhaustion","route":"/pathways/t-cell-exhaustion/"}]}}