Fig. 1.

Mechanisms of tumor target inhibitors and immunomodulatory mAbs. (A) Clinical utilization of targeted tumor inhibitors. This section illustrates targeted tumor inhibitors currently in clinical use. The inhibition of signaling pathways associated with cancer cell survival and growth leads to the death of cancer cells. Small molecule inhibitors are indicated in blue, while mAbs are indicated in red. (B) mAbs targeting immunomodulatory T cells. This section describes mAbs that target T cells, specifically anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1. These mAbs counteract T cell suppression, thereby facilitating the release from immunosuppression and the subsequent elimination of cancer cells. Abbreviations: mAbs, monoclonal antibodies; HGF, hepatocyte growth factor; c-MET, mesenchymal–epithelial transition factor; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; VEGFR, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; EGF, epidermal growth factor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor 2; CTLA-4, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4; PD-1, programmed death-1; PD-L1, programmed death ligand 1; PI3K, phosphoinositide 3-kinase; AKT, protein kinase B, also known as PKB; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; MEK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; ERK, extracellular signal regulated kinase. Created with BioRender.com.