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. 2023 Aug 5;15(15):3980. doi: 10.3390/cancers15153980

Figure 9.

Figure 9

Reported therapeutic targets of select phytochemicals against lung cancer. Binding of ligand to any RTK like EGFR, VEGFR, IGF-1R, HER2, c-MET, or RET results in activation of a multitude of downstream signaling pathways. PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway incites the activation of effector proteins like 4EBP1 and p70S6K and prosurvival oncogenes including Bcl-2 and XIAP that inhibit the actions of apoptotic caspases. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway also blocks the actions of proapoptotic FOXO. The RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway results in the activation of proto-oncogenes like c-Myc and c-Jun. The JAK/STAT pathway results in the activation of prosurvival oncogenes like Bcl-2, Mcl-1, and survivin. Each of these pathways results in cell survival and proliferation in lung cancer. Signaling molecules and effector proteins of these major pathways of lung cancer serve as targets for phytochemicals. Abbreviations: Bcl-2, B cell lymphoma protein-2; c-MET, c-mesenchymal–epithelial transition factor; 4EBP1, 4E-binding protein 1; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; FOXO, Forkhead box O; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; IGF-1R, insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor; Mcl-1, myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1; p70S6K, p70S6 kinase 1; RET, rearranged during transfection; RTK, receptor tyrosine kinase; VEGFR, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor; XIAP, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (created with BioRender.com, accessed on 28 July 2023).