REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Systems Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1575713
This article is part of the Research TopicImmune-Cancer Cell InteractionView all 7 articles
Emerging IO checkpoints in gastrointestinal oncology
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, United States
- 2Center for Hillman Cancer, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- 3University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, United States
- 4Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
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Recent progress in immunotherapy has significantly altered the therapeutic approach for gastrointestinal cancers, which are historically challenging due to their intricate pathologies and unfavorable outcomes. This review emphasizes the growing importance of immune checkpoints like TIGIT, VISTA, GITR, STING, and TIM-3 in the treatment of gastrointestinal oncology. These checkpoints are crucial elements within the tumor microenvironment, presenting new therapeutic possibilities. Studies show that TIGIT and GITR regulate the functions of T cells and NK cells, while the VISTA and STING pathways boost the body's anti-tumor responses. TIM-3 is linked with T cell fatigue, highlighting its potential as a target to counteract immune evasion mechanisms. Integrating these immune checkpoints with traditional treatments could result in more customized and effective therapeutic approaches. This detailed review seeks to explore the changing field of immune checkpoint research, offering insights from molecular biology to clinical practice, and envisioning a future where advanced treatment methods greatly enhance patient outcomes in GI cancers.
Keywords: immune checkpoints, Gastrointestinal Oncology, TIGIT, GITR, Vista, STING, TIM-3, cancer immunotherapy
Received: 12 Feb 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tojjari, Saeed and Cavalcante. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ludimila Cavalcante, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, 22903, Virginia, United States
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