Exploring Inflammation in Cancers
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2011) | Viewed by 118032
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Epidemiological studies have shown that regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a reduced risk of cancer development. NSAIDs exert their anti-inflammatory activity through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), resulting in suppression of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) biosynthesis. Consistently, genetic studies using mouse models have demonstrated that a proinflammatory prostaglandin PGE2 plays an essential role in gastrointestinal cancer development through induction of angiogenesis or suppression of tumor immunity. On the other hand, NF-kB and Stat3 are two major transcription factors in the inflammatory response, which are activated by TNF-a and IL-6, respectively. It has been shown that activation of both NF-kB and Stat3 is required for colitis-associated cancer development in mouse models through inhibition of apoptosis and acceleration of cell proliferation. These results, taken together, indicate that inflammatory signaling networks promote tumor development through multiple pathways. Moreover, recent studies have also indicated that inflammation causes tumor initiation by induction of epigenetic or genetic alterations, and malignant progression through remodeling the metastatic microenvironment. Accordingly, it is possible that targeting inflammation is an effective therapeutic strategy against cancer initiation, promotion and progression. This special issue on “Exploring Inflammation in Cancers” will include original research articles and review papers in the field of inflammation and cancer, including, but not limited to, infection-associated cancer (H. pylori, HCV etc.), cytokine/chemokine signaling in cancer development, innate immunity and acquired immunity (Th1, Th2 or Th17) in cancer development, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in tumorigenesis, and inflammation and epigenetics. Thank you for your collaboration.
Prof. Dr. Masanobu Oshima
Guest Editor
Keywords
- inflammation
- COX-2
- PGE2
- TNF-alpha
- NF-kappa B
- Stat3
- tumor-associated macrophages
- colitis-associated cancer
- innate immunity