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. 2021 May 27;15:2269–2287. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S308578

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© 2021 Qiu et al.

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Cytokines in the cancer immunity cycle.6 1) Antigens from dead cancer cells are captured by APCs, mainly by DCs. 2–3) DCs present cancer antigens to T cells to prime the adaptive immune response. 4–5) Activated effector T cells infiltrate cancer cells and then 6) kill cancer cells. Dead cancer cells release cancer antigens to continue the immune cycle. Cytokines that have been shown to promote or inhibit the anticancer immune responses are highlighted.

Abbreviations: IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin; TGF-β, transforming growth factor β; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.