Role of inflammation in chemical-induced lung cancer

Chemical-induced carcinogenesis has been in the focus of toxicological research for many decades. However, the mechanisms leading to tumor formation are only understood with certain substances. The intake of potential carcinogens by inhalation is a major route of exposure. Chemical-induced lung tumors are the final manifestation of a multistep pathway, resulting in an imbalance between cell proliferation and cell death by apoptosis. The impact of certain confounding factors e.g. extent of inflammatory response, type of genotoxic event, antagonizing principles and genetic background are discussed in this article. Finally, methods to assess the inflammatory potential of chemicals are referred to.