A 56-year-old woman sees her primary care physician complaining of flank pain and hematuria and is found to have a hematocrit of 56%.She is subsequently diagnosed with advanced renal cell carcinoma.Part of the patient's management involves systemic cytokine therapy;however,the patient develops severe pulmonary edema as a result of the treatment.Which of the following cytokines was most likely used in this patient's therapy?

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The classic clinical findings of renal cell carcinoma include flank pain and hematuria.These patients commonly have elevated hematocrits secondary to the overproduction of erythropoietin,which increases red blood cell production in the bone marrow.Of the systemic cytokine therapies used in cancer therapy,only interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-6 have been used frequently for renal cancer.Whereas IL-6 has not demonstrated any clinical benefit in these patients,IL-2 has been effective in inducing measurable tumor regression responses in a small percentage of patients (<15%).IL-2 therapy is highly toxic and can induce fever,pulmonary edema,and vascular shock.

A 56-Year-Old Woman Sees Her Primary Care Physician Complaining of Flank