Slide 1

• Survival of cancer cells depends on their

ability to evade the antitumor immune

response initiated by the host

• A key mechanism of immune evasion - direct

inhibition of cytotoxic T cells

• T-cell activation is two-step process:

• 1.

antigen recognition

• 2

. antigen-independent co-regulatory

signa

l that determines whether the T cell will

be switched on or off in response to the

antigen.

• This second step is overseen by the immune

checkpoint pathways, which are either

stimulatory or inhibitory

Exploiting Immune Checkpoints Inhibitors in cancer