An Open-Label, Two-Arm, Phase I Trial of Recombinant Human Interleukin-21 in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma

Abstract
Purpose: Human interleukin-21 (IL-21) is a pleiotropic class I cytokine that activates CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells. We report a phase 1 study of recombinant human IL-21 in patients with surgically incurable metastatic melanoma. The primary objective was to investigate safety and tolerability by determining dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). The secondary objectives were to identify a dose response for various biomarkers in the peripheral blood, estimate the minimum biologically effective dose, determine the pharmacokinetics of IL-21, determine if anti-IL-21 antibodies were induced during therapy, and measure effects on tumor size according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors.

This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit: