IL-6 Blockade Limitations as an Anticancer Strategy: Literature Review and Proposal of Explanations for Unexpected Results
Mohamed Islam Delma *
Internal Medicine Unit, Colonel Chaabani Hospital, El Menia, DZA, Algeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
IL-6 is a cytokine with multiple protumorigenic effects, making it an interesting therapeutic target. IL-6 inhibitors with an acceptable safety profile had been developed and tested in experimental and clinical trials. However, the outcomes were not as expected theoretically. Possible explanations of this discordance had been advocated by authors and will be reviewed in this paper. Additional reasons, such as the antitumoral effects of IL-6 and overcompensation by alternative agents will be proposed. These may also explain the trending to negative results constated in some clinical trials.
Keywords: Il-6, cxcl-12, pre-metastatic niche, siltuximab