The ImmunoVerse™ From Cytokines to Checkpoint Blockade: Advancing Cancer Immunotherapy, ft. Dr. Mario Sznol
Oct 23, 2025
Dr. Mario Sznol, a Yale Medicine professor and Cancer Immunology Program co-director, dives into his groundbreaking work in cancer immunotherapy. He shares insights on pioneering high-dose interleukin-2 trials and the evolution of checkpoint inhibitors like anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4. Discover the challenges of managing immune-related toxicities and the promise of breakthroughs in bispecific antibodies and engineered T-cells. With a focus on collaboration and innovation, Sznol emphasizes the powerful impact of immunotherapy on transforming cancer treatment.
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Early IL-2 Experience Sparked A Career
- Mario Sznol first encountered high-dose interleukin-2 as a fellow at Mount Sinai and became fascinated by it.
- He then joined the NCI's CTEP as a drug monitor and helped develop early IL-2 trials that sustained the field.
Cytokines Are Contextual Immune Drivers
- Cytokines are immune hormones that drive activation, proliferation, and function of immune cells in context-dependent ways.
- High-dose interleukin-2 proved immunotherapy could produce durable remissions in metastatic melanoma and kidney cancer.
Early Checkpoint Trials Changed Expectations
- Mario Sznol describes joining the first multi-dose anti-PD trial at Yale and seeing remarkable activity that signaled a paradigm shift.
- He then helped run the early anti-PD plus anti-CTLA-4 combination trial and observed improved outcomes over anti-PD alone.