Are There Any Challenges in Targeting Immunosuppressive Cytokines?
While targeting immunosuppressive cytokines holds promise, several challenges remain:
- Redundancy and Compensation: The immune system is highly redundant, and blocking one cytokine may lead to compensation by others, reducing the efficacy of the treatment. - Toxicity: Inhibiting cytokines that also play a role in normal immune regulation can lead to unintended side effects, including autoimmunity and increased susceptibility to infections. - Heterogeneity: The tumor microenvironment can vary significantly between patients and even within different areas of the same tumor, making it difficult to develop a one-size-fits-all approach.
