Investigation of type I interferon and immune signalling inbreast and ovarian cancer

摘要

The type I interferons (IFN) are a family of innate immune cytokines known to play vital roles in host defence. The direct and indirect anti-tumour effects of these cytokines have led to considerable investigation into their role in cancer pathogenesis and their use as potential anti-cancer therapeutics. Despite this, the clinical use and benefit of type I IFN therapy has so far been limited to a select number of cancers such as melanoma and haematological malignancies. Notably, the success of IFN treatment has varied widely among patients and cancer types including many solid tumours where IFN therapy has exhibited poor efficacy and is largely restricted by dose-limited toxicity. The greater potential of these cytokines as anti-cancer agents has yet to be realised and to this end, there is a clear need to further understand the complexities of type I IFN signalling in cancer development and pro- gression.