Figure 1.

Modeling the role of inflammatory cytokines in cellular transformation. Schematic illustrates how immune cells can infiltrate into normal tissue following the acquisition of transforming genetic events in epithelial cells (denoted by *). Recruitment of immune cells and the inflammatory cytokines they produce can either (1) permanently suppress the growth of the dysregulated cells, resulting in tumor suppression or (2) apply a selective pressure to the dysregulated cells, resulting in adaptive changes to escape the senescence-inducing signals.