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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jul 28.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Urol. 2016 Jun 21;13(7):420–431. doi: 10.1038/nrurol.2016.103

Figure 3. Immunomodulatory effects of targeted therapies for renal cell carcinoma.

Figure 3

Tumour cells can secrete vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), which, when it binds to the VEGF receptor (VEGFR), can signal to halt antigen–presenting-cell (APC) maturation. Both bevacizumab — a monoclonal antibody against VEGF-A — and sunitinib — a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor — can block signalling through this pathway and, therefore, promote maturation of APCs. Both regulatory T (Treg) cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) inhibit immune activation. VEGF-blockade with sunitinib or sorafenib can inhibit Treg cell function and treatment with sunitinib or axitinib has been found to inhibit function of MDSCs in preclinical and clinical models.