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Scientific American Article: "Hallmarks of Cancer: Tumor-Promoting Inflammation" By Buddhini Samarasinghe (Buddhini Samarasinghe is a molecular biologist, with experience in cancer research. She completed her PhD at the University of Glasgow, U.K. and then recently completed a postdoctoral position at the University of Hawaii. Her writing can be found at Jargonwall. She is also a passionate science communicator, engaging the public with current research in the life sciences. Where possible, she uses original research papers and describes the science minus the jargon! She is also involved in science outreach through broadcasts on YouTube and other social media sites, including Facebook and Google+. Follow on Twitter @DrHalfPintBuddy.)

Excerpt:
"We consider the immune system as our friend; it protects us by fighting infections while keeping us healthy. But there is a darker side to the immune system. Often, when it comes to cancer, we find that the immune system can turn traitor and actually promote cancer development.

The presence of white blood cells in tumors has been noted for many decades and provides the first clue that inflammation is linked to cancer. Yet it is only within the last few years that we have obtained clear evidence that inflammation plays a critical role in cancer development, and we are just beginning to understand the molecular mechanisms of how this happens. Indeed, chronic infections, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, environmental pollutants and high fat diets are now recognized as major risk factors for most common types of cancer; and, importantly, all these risk factors are linked to cancer through inflammation.

An extremely graphic yet apt way of describing a tumor is as “a wound that doesn’t heal.” Indeed, there are many similarities between a cancerous tumor and the process of wound healing. Both involve the growth, survival and migration of cells; both require the growth of new blood vessels. Importantly, all these processes are controlled by growth factors and signaling molecules. Just as the immune cells gather near a site of injury to secrete growth factors to begin tissue repair, tumors can also surround themselves with immune cells that secrete these same growth factors to promote their uncontrolled cell growth.

NF-?B: The First Violin
What orchestrates the inflammatory response? A protein known as NF?B (pronounced NF-kappa-B) has been described as “playing the first violin, if it is not the conductor of the inflammatory response.” Since NF?B is such an important first responder to inflammation it is already present in cells in an inactive state and does not require any protein synthesis to become activated. NF?B is held in an inactive state by a protein known as I?Ba, which binds to NF?B and prevents it from moving into the nucleus of the cell. I?Ba essentially behaves like a goalkeeper. So to activate the NF?B pathway, the goalkeeper must be neutralized. This is the role of an enzyme known as IKK (I?B kinase). Remember, kinases are enzymes that add phosphate groups to proteins. By adding a phosphate group to I?Ba the goalkeeper, IKK ‘tags’ it for degradation; the goalkeeper is neutralized. NF?B is now free to move into the nucleus of the cell and activate a wide range of genes that promote cell growth, survival, migration and the formation of new blood vessels. In the context of cancer, the activation of NF?B in immune cells induces the production of molecules that activate NF?B in cancer cells; these in turn induce molecules that attract more immune cells into the tumor. It is a feed-forward loop that results in a frenzy of uncontrolled growth, with the immune cells actively enhancing the Hallmark capabilities of the cancer cells."

Article at:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2014/04/18/the-hallmarks-of-cancer-8-tumor-promoting-inflammation/