The present invention is directed to cancer therapy, specifically to prognostic and therapeutic compositions and methods, wherein expression of a mutated form of p53 serves as a predictive marker for successful type I interferon (IFN) treatment. The invention also relates to the use of low doses of IFN having reduced clinical toxicity, and enables the use of IFN to prevent tumor formation in susceptible patient populations such as patients carrying p53 germline mutations.
