Tumor growth or regression: powered by inflammation

Tumor growth or regression: powered by inflammation.

Malignant cells thrive in a highly specialized, stromal environment, which harbors support cells, blood vessels, and diverse leukocyte populations. There is increasing evidence that "by default", intratumoral inflammation fosters angiogenic and vasculogenic processes and simultaneously creates an immunosuppressive micromilieu. This self-amplifying loop of proangiogenic inflammation represents a...

Inflammation induced by MMP-9 enhances tumor regression of experimental breast cancer.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been suggested as therapeutic targets in cancer treatment, but broad-spectrum MMP inhibitors have failed in clinical trials. Recent data suggest that several MMPs including MMP-9 exert both pro- and antitumorigenic properties. This is also the case of the natural inhibitors of MMPs, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). The inhibitor of MMP-9 is T...

Trauma or Tumor? The Nail Splay Sign

Crystalline silica-induced leukotrieneB4-dependent inflammation promotes lung tumor growth

Chronic exposure to crystalline silica (CS) causes silicosis, an irreversible lung inflammatory disease that may eventually lead to lung cancer. In this study, we demonstrate that in K-ras(LA1) mice, CS exposure markedly enhances the lung tumour burden and genetic deletion of leukotriene B4 receptor-1 (BLT1(-/-)) attenuates this increase. Pulmonary neutrophilic inflammation induced by CS is sig...

Intradermal transplantation in mice of small numbers of sarcoma cells followed by tumor growth and regression.

Relatively small numbers of Sarcoma 1 cells were transplanted intradermally in A/WySn mice to study the course of growth when the size of the transplant is comparable to an early stage of spontaneous cancer. Transplants of 31 to 32,000 cells took one of three courses: no apparent growth; development of tumor followed by regression; or progressive growth. Transplants of 8,000 cells were the most...