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REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Molecular Targets and Therapeutics
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1489701
Recent Advances in Therapeutic Use of Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Inhibitors in Cancer and Fibrosis
Provisionally accepted- 1 The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
- 2 Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai, Shandong Province, China
Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) has long been known to be associated with early embryonic development and organogenesis, immune supervision, and tissue repair and homeostasis in adults. TGF-β has complex roles in fibrosis and cancer that may be opposing at different stages of these diseases. Under pathological conditions, overexpression of TGF-β causes epithelial-mesenchymal transition, deposition of extracellular matrix, and formation of cancer-associated fibroblasts, leading to fibrotic disease or cancer. Fibroblasts, epithelial cells, and immune cells are the most common targets of TGF-β, while fibrosis and cancer are the most common TGF-β-associated diseases. Given the critical role of TGF-β and its downstream molecules in fibrosis and progression of cancer, therapies targeting TGF-β signaling appear to be a promising strategy. Preclinical and clinical studies have investigated therapies targeting TGF-β, including antisense oligonucleotides, monoclonal antibodies, and ligand traps. However, development of targeted TGF-β therapy has been hindered by systemic cytotoxicity. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms of TGF-β signaling and highlights targeted TGF-β therapy for cancer and fibrosis as a therapeutic strategy for related diseases.
Keywords: Transforming growth factor-beta, Cancer-associated fibrosis, targeted therapies, cancer biology., Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Received: 01 Sep 2024; Accepted: 03 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jing, Gao, Jing, Yang and Liu. 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:
Shanglong Liu, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.