{"title":"Current landscape and future prospects of interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) agonists in cancer immunotherapy.","authors":"Kengo Tanigawa, William L Redmond","doi":"10.1080/2162402X.2025.2452654","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has significantly improved the survival for many patients with advanced malignancy. However, fewer than 50% of patients benefit from ICB, highlighting the need for more effective immunotherapy options. High-dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) immunotherapy, which is approved for patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma, stimulates CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells and NK cells and can generate durable responses in a subset of patients. Moreover, HD IL-2 may have potential efficacy in patients whose disease has progressed following ICB and plays a vital role in expanding tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) in TIL therapy. Despite its potential, the use of HD IL-2 is limited by severe toxicities such as hypotension and vascular leak syndrome. Additionally, only a few patients achieve a good outcome after HD IL-2 therapy. To address these challenges, numerous next-generation IL-2 receptor (IL-2 R) agonists have been developed to exhibit treatment effects while minimizing adverse events. This review will explore IL-2 biology, the clinical application of HD IL-2 therapy, and the development of novel IL-2 R agonists for cancer immunotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":48714,"journal":{"name":"Oncoimmunology","volume":"14 1","pages":"2452654"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11740684/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Oncoimmunology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2162402X.2025.2452654","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/15 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"IMMUNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has significantly improved the survival for many patients with advanced malignancy. However, fewer than 50% of patients benefit from ICB, highlighting the need for more effective immunotherapy options. High-dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) immunotherapy, which is approved for patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma, stimulates CD8+ T cells and NK cells and can generate durable responses in a subset of patients. Moreover, HD IL-2 may have potential efficacy in patients whose disease has progressed following ICB and plays a vital role in expanding tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) in TIL therapy. Despite its potential, the use of HD IL-2 is limited by severe toxicities such as hypotension and vascular leak syndrome. Additionally, only a few patients achieve a good outcome after HD IL-2 therapy. To address these challenges, numerous next-generation IL-2 receptor (IL-2 R) agonists have been developed to exhibit treatment effects while minimizing adverse events. This review will explore IL-2 biology, the clinical application of HD IL-2 therapy, and the development of novel IL-2 R agonists for cancer immunotherapy.
期刊介绍:
OncoImmunology is a dynamic, high-profile, open access journal that comprehensively covers tumor immunology and immunotherapy.
As cancer immunotherapy advances, OncoImmunology is committed to publishing top-tier research encompassing all facets of basic and applied tumor immunology.
The journal covers a wide range of topics, including:
-Basic and translational studies in immunology of both solid and hematological malignancies
-Inflammation, innate and acquired immune responses against cancer
-Mechanisms of cancer immunoediting and immune evasion
-Modern immunotherapies, including immunomodulators, immune checkpoint inhibitors, T-cell, NK-cell, and macrophage engagers, and CAR T cells
-Immunological effects of conventional anticancer therapies.