NF-kappaB: linking inflammation and immunity to cancer development and progression

  • Nat Rev Immunol. 2005 Oct;5(10):749-59. doi: 10.1038/nri1703.
Michael Karin  1 ,  Florian R Greten
Affiliations
  • 1. Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0723, USA. [email protected]
PMID: 16175180 DOI: 10.1038/nri1703
Abstract

There has been much effort recently to probe the long-recognized relationship between the pathological processes of Infection, inflammation and Cancer. For example, epidemiological studies have shown that approximately 15% of human deaths from Cancer are associated with chronic viral or Bacterial infections. This Review focuses on the molecular mechanisms that connect Infection, inflammation and Cancer, and it puts forward the hypothesis that activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) by the classical, IKK-beta (inhibitor-of-NF-kappaB kinase-beta)-dependent pathway is a crucial mediator of inflammation-induced tumour growth and progression, as well as an important modulator of tumour surveillance and rejection.