Pathways connecting inflammation and cancer

• Published in: Current opinion in genetics & development Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 3 - 10
• Main Authors: Allavena, Paola, Garlanda, Cecilia, Borrello, Maria Grazia, Sica, Antonio, Mantovani, Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2008
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - genetics; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - immunology; Humans; Inflammation - complications; Macrophages - immunology; Medical Education; Mice; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - immunology; Neoplasms - metabolism; Oncogenes; Signal Transduction
• ISSN: 0959-437X; 1879-0380
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2008.01.003

Chronic and persistent inflammation contributes to cancer development and can predispose to carcinogenesis. Infection-driven inflammations are involved in the pathogenesis of approximately 15–20% of human tumors. However, even tumors that are not epidemiologically linked to pathogens are characterized by the presence of an inflammatory component in their microenvironment. Hallmarks of cancer-associated inflammation include the presence of infiltrating leukocytes, cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, lipid messengers, and matrix-degrading enzymes. Schematically, two interrelated pathways link inflammation and cancer: (1) genetic events leading to neoplastic transformation promote the construction of an inflammatory milieu; (2) tumor-infiltrating leukocytes, in particular macrophages, are prime regulators of cancer inflammation. Thus, an intrinsic pathway of inflammation (driven in tumor cells), as well as an extrinsic pathway (in tumor-infiltrating leukocytes) have been described and both contribute to tumor progression.