Inflammation-associated cancer: NF-κB is the lynchpin

Q Li, S Withoff, IM Verma - Trends in immunology, 2005 - cell.com
Trends in immunology, 2005cell.com
It has long been suspected that NF-κB signaling has a pivotal role in chronic inflammation-
associated malignancies, although genetic evidence for this hypothesis has been lacking.
However, recent papers have lent credence to this concept and show that NF-κB activation
in pre-malignant cells contributes to cell survival and metastatic potential. Furthermore, NF-
κB activation in tumor-associated leukocytes, especially macrophages, contributes towards
tumorigenesis by upregulating tumor-promoting proinflammatory proteins. This emphasizes …
It has long been suspected that NF-κB signaling has a pivotal role in chronic inflammation-associated malignancies, although genetic evidence for this hypothesis has been lacking. However, recent papers have lent credence to this concept and show that NF-κB activation in pre-malignant cells contributes to cell survival and metastatic potential. Furthermore, NF-κB activation in tumor-associated leukocytes, especially macrophages, contributes towards tumorigenesis by upregulating tumor-promoting proinflammatory proteins. This emphasizes the importance of NF-κB inhibitors as immunotherapeutic agents for chronic inflammation and suggests that these reagents might prevent, or at least inhibit, chronic inflammation-associated tumorigenesis.
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