Interleukin-6, a new target for therapy in multiple myeloma?

During the past few years much insight has been gained into the immunobiology of multiple myeloma. It has become evident that the growth of myeloma cells is regulated by cytokines, notably interleukin-6. In this paper a brief review is given of the evidence derived from in vitro as well as in vivo observations that interleukin-6 is involved in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma, and the implications of these findings for the development of new therapeutic strategies are discussed