Inflammatory microenvironment in the initiation and progression of bladder cancer

// Xinbing Sui 1, 2, * , Liming Lei 5, * , Liuxi Chen 6, * , Tian Xie 1, 2 and Xue Li 3 , 4 1 Department of Medical Oncology Holistic Integrative Oncology Institutes and Holistic Integrative Pharmacy Institutes, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, College of Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China 2 Department of Medical Oncology Holistic Integrative Cancer Center of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China 3 Departments of Urology and Pathology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 4 Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 5 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Laboratory of South China Structural Heart Disease, Guangzhou, China 6 Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Tian Xie, email: hzzju@aliyun.com Xue Li, email: sean.li@childrens.harvard.edu Keywords: inflammation, tumorigenesis, development, bladder cancer Received: April 25, 2017      Accepted: September 08, 2017      Published: October 06, 2017 ABSTRACT Accumulating evidence suggests the idea that chronic inflammation may play a critical role in various malignancies including bladder cancer and long-term treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is significantly effective in reducing certain cancer incidence and mortality. However, the molecular mechanisms leading to malignant transformation and the progression of bladder cancer in a chronically inflammatory environment remain largely unknown. In this review, we will describe the role of inflammation in the formation and development of bladder cancer and summarize the possible molecular mechanisms by which chronic inflammation regulates cell immune response, proliferation and metastasis. Understanding the novel function orchestrating inflammation and bladder cancer will hopefully provide us insights into their future clinical significance in preventing bladder carcinogenesis and progression.