Chronic Inflammation and Cancer: Paradigm on Tumor Progression, Metastasis and Therapeutic Intervention

As early as the 19th century, inflammation has been perceived to have a link with cancer but this perception has waned through the passing of time. In recent years however a renewed interest on inflammation and cancer connection stemming from different lines of work has been evolved that leads to a generally-accepted paradigm. In the tumor microenvironment, smouldering inflammation contributes to the proliferation and survival of malignant cells, angiogenesis, metastasis, subversion of adaptive immunity, reduced response to hormones and chemotherapeutic agents. Thus, this review will try to unravel and explain molecular events, mediators and regulators linking inflammation to cancer.