Interleukin 12 shows a better curative effect on lung cancer than paclitaxel and cisplatin doublet chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is a cytokine that has been reported to exhibit potent tumoricidal effects in animal tumor models. A combined approach using Paclitaxel and platinum-based doublet chemotherapy is the most commonly used backbone regimen for treating lung cancer. Despite numerous studies regarding the anti-tumor effects of IL-12 and the widespread use of conventional chemotherapy, few direct comparisons of IL-12 and conventional chemotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer have been performed. METHODS: We compared IL-12 to paclitaxel and cisplatin doublet chemotherapy in terms of efficacy against lung cancer in mouse models. The antitumor effect was measured by survival assays, histological analyses and imaging analyses. The cytokine levels were assessed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry (FACS). The spleen sizes were measured. CD31, CD105 and Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR3) were analyzed using immunofluorescence. Matrix metalloprotein-9 (MMP-9) and cadherin 1 (CDH1) transcript levels were measured by quantitative PCR. Tumor cells apoptosis were examined by Tunel assay. RESULTS: The results showed that IL-12 treatment inhibited lung tumor growth, resulting in the long-term survival of lung cancer-bearing mice. Further examination revealed that IL-12 rapidly activated NK cells to secrete IFN-γ, resulting in the inhibition of tumor angiogenesis. In contrast, paclitaxel and cisplatin doublet chemotherapy did not show the expected efficacy in orthotopic lung cancer models; the IFN-γ levels were not increased after this treatment, and the number of peripheral lymphocytes was reduced. CONCLUSION: Together, these animal model data indicate that IL-12 shows a better curative effect than PTX + CDDP doublet chemotherapy. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2701-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.