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• Types of Inflammation and General Mechanisms
• Several types of inflammation—differing by cause, mechanism, outcome, and intensity—can
promote cancer development and progression. Persistent Helicobacter pylori infection is
associated with gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.
Infections with hepatitis B (HBV) or C (HCV) viruses increase the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma
(HCC), and infections with Schistosoma or Bacteroides species are linked to bladder and colon
cancer, respectively (Karin, 2006
• , Wu et al., 2009a
• The inflammatory response triggered by infection precedes tumor development and is a part of
normal host defense, whose goal is pathogen elimination. However, tumorigenic pathogens
subvert host immunity and establish persistent infections associated with low-grade but chronic
inflammation. By contrast, acute inflammation induced by certain microbial preparations was used
by Coley with some success to treat cancer in the 1890s, and one such preparation is currently
used in the treatment of bladder cancer (Rakoff-Nahoum and Medzhitov, 2009
• ). What makes bladder carcinoma uniquely sensitive to acute inflammation, even though it is
promoted by chronic inflammation, is currently unknown. This is an important problem whose
solution should reveal how to successfully deploy inflammation in cancer therapy. Another type of
chronic inflammation that precedes tumor development is caused by immune deregulation and
autoimmunity. An example is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which greatly increases the risk of
colorectal cancer (Waldner and Neurath, 2009)
• Inflammation and Tumor Promotion
• Tumor promotion is the process of tumor growth from a single
initiated cell into a fully developed primary tumor. Initial tumor growth
depends on increased cell proliferation and reduced cell death, both
of which are stimulated by inflammation-driven mechanisms. In fact,
many of the enhancing effects of inflammation on cancer are exerted
at the level of tumor promotion, and most known tumor promoters,
for instance phorbol esters, are potent inducers of inflammation
(Karin, 2006
• ). Inflammation-induced tumor promotion may occur early or late in
tumor development and can lead to activation of premalignant
lesions that were dormant for many years.
• Inflammation and Angiogenesis
• Growth of large tumors requires an increased intratumoral blood
supply. This is triggered by tumor hypoxia, which promotes
angiogenesis and increases the probability of metastasis. In
addition to hypoxia, tumor angiogenesis depends on
recruitment of TAMs, which sense hypoxic signals and in turn
produce chemokines and proangiogenic factors. Recruitment of
TAM precursors is largely dependent on angiogenic mediators
such as angiopoetin 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor
(VEGF).
• Inflammation and Metastasis
• From a clinical perspective, metastasis is the most critical
aspect of tumorigenesis, because over 90% of cancer mortality
is caused by metastasis. Recent studies unambiguously show
that metastasis requires close collaboration between cancer
cells, immune and inflammatory cells, and stromal elements.
The process of metastasis can be grossly divided into four
major steps. The first step is represented by epithelial-
mesenchymal transition, in which cancer cells acquire
fibroblastoid characteristics that increase their motility and allow
them to invade epithelial linings/basal membranes and reach
efferent blood vessels or lymphatics.
• Immunity and Tumorigenesis
• As discussed above, in tumors that arise in the context of underlying
inflammation or in advanced tumors containing inflammatory
infiltrates, the net effect of the immune system (both innate and
adaptive) is stimulation of tumor growth and progression. However,
cancer cells represent an “altered self” and express “non-self”
antigens in the context of stress and danger signals that can
promote antigen presentation. Thus, even growing tumors may be
subject to immunosurveillance and killing by activated T and NK cells
(Dunn et al., 2004
• ). It is likely that immunosurveillance and tumor-promoting
inflammation can coexist even in the same tumour.
• Anti-inflammatory Drugs in Cancer Therapy
• The findings described above provide an improved understanding
of the molecular etiology of cancer and lay the foundations for the
use of anti-inflammatory drugs in cancer prevention and therapy.
One advantage of targeting the inflammatory microenvironment is
that the normal genome of inflammatory/immune cells, which,
unlike the cancer cell genome, is not subject to mutational and
epigenetic changes that result in drug resistance. However, in
most cases, anti-inflammatory therapy is not cytocidal on its own
and needs to be combined with more conventional therapies that
kill cancer cells.
• Conclusions and Perspective
• Inflammation can affect every aspect of tumor
development and progression as well as the
response to therapy. In the past ten years, we
have learned a great deal about the different
mechanisms by which cancer and inflammation
intersect, and the time is right to translate
much of the basic knowledge gained thus far and
use it to add new armaments to the arsenal of
cancer therapeutics. Only by targeting every
single aspect of cancer biology can we expect
to make real gains in the fight against these
currently incurable diseases.
Thank you

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Inflammation in Tumours in molecular biology

  • 1.
  • 2. • Types of Inflammation and General Mechanisms • Several types of inflammation—differing by cause, mechanism, outcome, and intensity—can promote cancer development and progression. Persistent Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Infections with hepatitis B (HBV) or C (HCV) viruses increase the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and infections with Schistosoma or Bacteroides species are linked to bladder and colon cancer, respectively (Karin, 2006 • , Wu et al., 2009a • The inflammatory response triggered by infection precedes tumor development and is a part of normal host defense, whose goal is pathogen elimination. However, tumorigenic pathogens subvert host immunity and establish persistent infections associated with low-grade but chronic inflammation. By contrast, acute inflammation induced by certain microbial preparations was used by Coley with some success to treat cancer in the 1890s, and one such preparation is currently used in the treatment of bladder cancer (Rakoff-Nahoum and Medzhitov, 2009 • ). What makes bladder carcinoma uniquely sensitive to acute inflammation, even though it is promoted by chronic inflammation, is currently unknown. This is an important problem whose solution should reveal how to successfully deploy inflammation in cancer therapy. Another type of chronic inflammation that precedes tumor development is caused by immune deregulation and autoimmunity. An example is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which greatly increases the risk of colorectal cancer (Waldner and Neurath, 2009)
  • 3.
  • 4. • Inflammation and Tumor Promotion • Tumor promotion is the process of tumor growth from a single initiated cell into a fully developed primary tumor. Initial tumor growth depends on increased cell proliferation and reduced cell death, both of which are stimulated by inflammation-driven mechanisms. In fact, many of the enhancing effects of inflammation on cancer are exerted at the level of tumor promotion, and most known tumor promoters, for instance phorbol esters, are potent inducers of inflammation (Karin, 2006 • ). Inflammation-induced tumor promotion may occur early or late in tumor development and can lead to activation of premalignant lesions that were dormant for many years.
  • 5.
  • 6. • Inflammation and Angiogenesis • Growth of large tumors requires an increased intratumoral blood supply. This is triggered by tumor hypoxia, which promotes angiogenesis and increases the probability of metastasis. In addition to hypoxia, tumor angiogenesis depends on recruitment of TAMs, which sense hypoxic signals and in turn produce chemokines and proangiogenic factors. Recruitment of TAM precursors is largely dependent on angiogenic mediators such as angiopoetin 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
  • 7.
  • 8. • Inflammation and Metastasis • From a clinical perspective, metastasis is the most critical aspect of tumorigenesis, because over 90% of cancer mortality is caused by metastasis. Recent studies unambiguously show that metastasis requires close collaboration between cancer cells, immune and inflammatory cells, and stromal elements. The process of metastasis can be grossly divided into four major steps. The first step is represented by epithelial- mesenchymal transition, in which cancer cells acquire fibroblastoid characteristics that increase their motility and allow them to invade epithelial linings/basal membranes and reach efferent blood vessels or lymphatics.
  • 9.
  • 10. • Immunity and Tumorigenesis • As discussed above, in tumors that arise in the context of underlying inflammation or in advanced tumors containing inflammatory infiltrates, the net effect of the immune system (both innate and adaptive) is stimulation of tumor growth and progression. However, cancer cells represent an “altered self” and express “non-self” antigens in the context of stress and danger signals that can promote antigen presentation. Thus, even growing tumors may be subject to immunosurveillance and killing by activated T and NK cells (Dunn et al., 2004 • ). It is likely that immunosurveillance and tumor-promoting inflammation can coexist even in the same tumour.
  • 11.
  • 12. • Anti-inflammatory Drugs in Cancer Therapy • The findings described above provide an improved understanding of the molecular etiology of cancer and lay the foundations for the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in cancer prevention and therapy. One advantage of targeting the inflammatory microenvironment is that the normal genome of inflammatory/immune cells, which, unlike the cancer cell genome, is not subject to mutational and epigenetic changes that result in drug resistance. However, in most cases, anti-inflammatory therapy is not cytocidal on its own and needs to be combined with more conventional therapies that kill cancer cells.
  • 13. • Conclusions and Perspective • Inflammation can affect every aspect of tumor development and progression as well as the response to therapy. In the past ten years, we have learned a great deal about the different mechanisms by which cancer and inflammation intersect, and the time is right to translate much of the basic knowledge gained thus far and use it to add new armaments to the arsenal of cancer therapeutics. Only by targeting every single aspect of cancer biology can we expect to make real gains in the fight against these currently incurable diseases.