{"entity":{"id":"immunocytokines","kind":"technology","name":"Immunocytokines (antibody-cytokine fusions)","aka":[],"tldr":"Cytokines such as interleukin-2 or TNF fused to an antibody that homes to the tumour, aiming to concentrate the immune boost where it is needed and spare the rest of the body.","summary":"Systemic interleukin-2 and interferon were among the first cancer immunotherapies but were limited by severe toxicity. Immunocytokines fuse a cytokine to a tumour-targeting antibody or fragment so that it accumulates in tumour tissue; examples include L19-IL2 and L19-TNF (Philogen), which reached phase 3 in melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma, and engineered IL-2 and IL-12 variants with reduced systemic activity. Results have been mixed and no product is approved.","status":"phase-3","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["melanoma","sarcoma"],"sections":["immunotherapy"],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"A cytokine domain is fused to an antibody against a tumour-associated antigen or stromal marker, delivering local immune activation after systemic dosing.","strengths":["Localises potent cytokines to tumour","Combines with checkpoint blockade and chemotherapy"],"limitations":["Cytokines still leak systemically","Complex manufacturing","No approvals despite decades of work"]},"route":"/technologies/immunocytokines/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"melanoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Melanoma","route":"/cancers/melanoma/"},{"id":"sarcoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST)","route":"/cancers/sarcoma/"}],"section":[{"id":"immunotherapy","kind":"section","name":"Immunotherapy","route":"/fronts/immunotherapy/"}],"technology":[{"id":"cytokine-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Cytokines & engineered cytokines","route":"/technologies/cytokine-therapy/"}],"drug":[{"id":"daromun","kind":"drug","name":"Daromun","route":"/drugs/daromun/"}]}}