Continuous infusion interleukin-2 and famotidine in metastatic kidney cancer

Histamine in cancer immunology and immunotherapy. Current status and new perspectives

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and its incidence and mortality are rapidly increasing worldwide. The dynamic interaction of immune cells and tumor cells determines the clinical outcome of cancer. Immunotherapy comes to the forefront of cancer treatments, resulting in impressive and durable responses but only in a fraction of patients. Thus, understanding the characteristics and profiles of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a necessary step to move forward in the design of new immunomodulatory strategies that can boost the immune system to fight cancer. Histamine produces a complex and fine-tuned regulation of the phenotype and functions of the different immune cells, participating in multiple regulatory responses of the innate and adaptive immunity. Considering the important actions of histamine-producing immune cells in the TME, in this review we first address the most important immunomodulatory roles of histamine and histamine receptors in the context of cancer development and progression. In addition, this review highlights the current progress and foundational developments in the field of cancer immunotherapy in combination with histamine and pharmacological compounds targeting histamine receptors.

Current status of cytokine therapy in management of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Cytokine therapy with interferon-alpha and interleukin-2 has arguably been the standard treatment for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma for more than 20 years. In this paper, the current evidence for the use of cytokine therapy in this patient population is discussed, including the significant toxicity associated with these agents. A low overall response rate and a marginal survival advantage are observed with interferon-alpha and interleukin-2; however, these therapies have significant toxicity and impair quality of life. Unlike the current tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, complete tumour responses may be seen with interleukin-2, but again this therapy has significant morbidity and mortality. Newer anti-angiogenesis agents may be combined with current standard cytokine therapy for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.