# The role of immune checkpoint molecules in cancers

**Authors:** Meilan Zhang, Junjie Xu, Zhaokuan Zheng, Zhiyun Guo, Hao Wang, Mingqing Zhou, Hailin Tang, Lewei Zhu

PMC · DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1674818 · Frontiers in Immunology · 2026-01-14

## TL;DR

This review explains how immune checkpoint molecules help tumors evade the immune system and how targeting them can improve cancer treatments.

## Contribution

The paper offers a comprehensive overview of immune checkpoint molecules and their roles in cancer immunotherapy.

## Key findings

- Immune checkpoint molecules regulate T cell function and tumor immune evasion.
- Checkpoint inhibitors and combination therapies show promise in treating various cancers.
- Multi-target approaches and personalized strategies are key to improving immunotherapy outcomes.

## Abstract

Immune checkpoint molecules play a central role in regulating T cell function, maintaining immune homeostasis, and facilitating tumor immune evasion, making them critical targets in cancer immunotherapy. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the structural characteristics and signaling mechanisms of key co-inhibitory and co-stimulatory molecules, and their immunoregulatory roles in both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Recent advances in the clinical application of immune checkpoint inhibitors, combination therapy strategies, and mechanisms of resistance are discussed. Furthermore, the importance of multi-target combinatorial approaches and personalized immune modulation is emphasized, offering valuable insights and directions for optimizing cancer immunotherapy strategies.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** hematological malignancies (MESH:D019337), cancer (MESH:D009369)

## Full text

_Full body text omitted from this summary view._ Fetch the complete paper as Markdown: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12847340/full.md

## Figures

2 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12847340/full.md

## References

184 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12847340/full.md

---
Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12847340