The interferons (IFNs) are cytokines with important antineoplastic and immune modulatory effects. These cytokines have been conserved through evolution as important elements of the immune surveillance against cancer. Despite this, defining their precise and specific roles in the generation of antitumor responses remains challenging. Emerging evidence suggests the existence of previously unknown roles for IFNs in the control of the immune response against cancer that may redefine our understanding on how these cytokines function. Beyond the engagement of classical JAK-STAT signaling pathways that promote transcription and expression of gene products, the IFNs engage multiple other signaling cascades to generate products that mediate biological responses and outcomes. There is recent emerging evidence indicating that IFNs control the expression of both traditional immune checkpoints like the PD-L1/PD1 axis, but also less well understood “intracellular” immune checkpoints whose targeting may define new approaches for the treatment of malignancies.

干扰素（IFN）是具有重要的抗肿瘤和免疫调节作用的细胞因子。这些细胞因子已经通过进化得以保存，作为抗癌免疫监视的重要组成部分。尽管如此，在抗肿瘤反应的产生中定义其确切和特定的作用仍然具有挑战性。越来越多的证据表明，IFN在控制针对癌症的免疫反应中的作用未知，这可能重新定义了我们对这些细胞因子如何发挥作用的理解。除了参与促进基因产物转录和表达的经典JAK-STAT信号传导途径的参与之外，IFN还与其他多个信号传导级联联系，以产生介导生物学反应和结果的产物。