Figure 1.

Schematic representation of the Tumor Immunity Cycle. As a consequence of apoptosis and anti-tumor treatments, cancer cells release tumor antigens (Step 1) that are presented to T lymphocytes through the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) (Step 2). The immune response is thus activated, together with immune checkpoints that regulate the extent of the response (Step 3). Cancer cells are recognized and killed by activated T lymphocytes (Step 4), causing them to release further tumor antigens. Figure 1 is complete ownership of authors.