Cancer is
usually the result of a combination of factors that contribute to increase (or
protect from) the risk of cancer development. Six factors were already
described as important for cancer progression: immortality, the ability to
evade apoptosis, to sustain angiogenesis, to produce self-sufficient growth
signals, to ignore anti-growth signals, to replicate limitless and to invade
other tissues.
In 2009,
an Italian study officially named inflammation as the seventh factor. The
inflammatory microenvironment favors tumor growth, this was known for chronic
inflammatory syndromes. Patients affected by chronic intestinal inflammation
are more susceptible to develop colorectal cancer. Inflammation is a defense
mechanism but requires tight control mechanisms.
EBRIS is
involved in studies devoted to highlight the axis between inflammation and
cancer and to develop strategies to control inflammation and reduce cancer
risks.