A 63-Year-Old Man Comes to the Physician After Noticing a Reddish

A 63-year-old man comes to the physician after noticing a reddish tinge to his urine for the last couple of days.  During evaluation of his hematuria, an abdominal CT scan reveals a left-sided renal mass.  Further workup also shows multiple pulmonary and bone nodules.  CT-guided biopsy of a peripherally located lung nodule demonstrates renal cell carcinoma.  High-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) is started, and 4 weeks later there is a significant reduction in his tumor burden.  Which of the following mechanisms was most likely responsible for regression of his malignancy?

A) Anti-angiogenic effect of IL-2
B) Direct cytotoxic effect of IL-2 on the tumor cells
C) Enhanced activity of natural killer cells
D) IL-2-induced apoptosis of tumor cells
E) Increased expression of MHC Class 1 on tumor cells

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