Cytokines – major molecular messengers orchestrate between inflammation and cancer

Inflammation is the defensive mechanism against physical or chemical or thermal or infectious agents. Acute inflammation is a protective mechanism against any noxious stimuli by various mediators such as cytokines, chemokines, enzymes, growth factors by inflammatory cells. If the inflammation is aggrevated chronically, smouldering inflammation results in release of inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, proteolytic enzymes, from innate and adaptive immune cells results in tumor initiation, tumor promotion and tumor progression. Cytokines are intercellular molecular messengers between immune cells and cancer cells, synthesized from immune cells and stromal cells activate transcription factors bring about tumor progression by cell proliferation, cell survival, angiogenesis, genomic instability, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, invasion and metastasis. This article briefs about the role of IL-1, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TGF-β, and IL-17 cytokines in progression of cancer.