During the past two decades, the notion that cancer would merely constitute acell-intrinsic disease has gradually been complemented by a model postulatingthat the immune system plays a relevant role during all stages of oncogenesis andtumor progression. Along with this conceptual shift, several strategies have beendevised to stimulate tumor-specific immune responses, including relativelyunselective approaches such as the systemic administration of adjuvants orimmunomodulatory cytokines. One year ago, in the July issue of OncoImmunology, wedescribed the main biological features of this large group of proteins anddiscussed the progress of ongoing clinical studies evaluating their safety andtherapeutic potential in cancer patients. Here, we summarize the latestdevelopments in this area of clinical research, focusing on high impact studiesthat have been published during the last 13 mo and clinical trials launched inthe same period to investigate which cytokines can be employed as safe andefficient immunostimulatory interventions against cancer.
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