Figure 2.

Link between inflammation and cancer. There are two pathways that link inflammation and cancer: extrinsic and intrinsic. The first is activated by inflammatory stimuli, the second by genetic alterations. These pathways are interconnected by the secretion of inflammatory cytokines that activate specific transcription factors (NFKB, STAT3, etc.) and lead to the secretion of inflammatory mediators including growth factors, metalloproteases that contribute to the development of inflammatory tumor microenvironment.