Immunity, inflammation, and cancer: an eternal fight between good and evil

Cancer development and its response to therapy are strongly influenced by innate and adaptive immunity, which either promote or attenuate tumorigenesis and can have opposing effects on therapeutic outcome. Chronic inflammation promotes tumor development, progression, and metastatic dissemination, as well as treatment resistance. However, cancer development and malignant progression are also associated with accumulation of genetic alterations and loss of normal regulatory processes, which cause expression of tumor-specific antigens and tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) that can activate antitumor immune responses. Although signals that trigger acute inflammatory reactions often stimulate dendritic cell…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: AI043477, CA127923
• UO
  University of California, San Diego