Inflammation and cancer: interweaving microRNA, free radical, cytokine and p53 pathways
Aaron J Schetter1, Niels H H Heegaard, Curtis C Harris
1Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Chronic inflammation and infection are major causes of cancer. There are continued improvements to our understanding of the molecular connections between inflammation and cancer. Key mediators of inflammation-induced cancer include nuclear factor kappa B, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, inflammatory cytokines, prostaglandins and specific microRNAs. The collective activity of these mediators is largely responsible for either a pro-tumorigenic or anti-tumorigenic inflammatory response through changes in cell proliferation, cell death, cellular senescence, DNA mutation rates, DNA methylation and angiogenesis. As our understanding grows, inflammatory mediators will provide opportunities to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. In this review, we provide a general overview of the connection between inflammation, microRNAs and cancer and highlight how our improved understanding of these connections may provide novel preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to reduce the health burden of cancer.
Related Concept Videos
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
The Tumor Microenvironment
The Tumor Microenvironment
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway
