Abstract: It is reported that type Ⅲ interferon (IFN-λ) has an anti-tumor effect on melanoma,  hepatocellular carcinoma, esophageal carcinoma and fibrosarcoma in recent years. IFN-λ could not only inhibit melanoma metastasis, but also induce cell apoptosis; its constitutively expression could activate natural killer cells, affecting hepatocellular carcinoma growth; IFN-λ could induce cells of G₁ phase in esophageal carcinoma directly to stagnation or apoptosis; IFN-λ could cause native and adaptive immune response to suppress fibrosarcoma growth. Research on the anti-tumor mechanisms of IFN-λ will provide new ideas for clinical tumor therapy.

Key words: Interferons, Neoplasms