Other promising therapeutic strategies that activate cancer cell apoptosis include agents that induce exogenous apoptosis pathways, agents that target tumor suppressor pathways or tumor microenvironments, and drug combination therapies. The antitumor effects of several FDAapproved drugs that target the cell survival and proliferation pathways of cancer cells also depend on their effects on the apoptotic signalling pathway. Both cell-mediated immunotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibition induce apoptosis of cancer cells via extrinsic pathways. The potential for enhancing this effect with combination therapies (targeted therapy, cell proliferation inhibitors or radiation therapy) is currently being investigated.
