Inflammation and Cancer, Essay Example

Abstract

According to the most recent evidence, there is a direct link between chronic inflammation and certain types of cancer. Inflammation generally occurs due to a bacterial or viral infection, such as a chronic bladder infection, which over time may be more susceptible to bladder cancer. This is especially true for individuals who are overweight or obese, or exhibit disorders like diabetes, hepatitis A and B, HIV/AIDS, and other bacterial/viral disorders.

Introduction

The links between cancer and inflammation, being the defensive response of the human body to an attack upon it, such as caused by a physical injury or a bacterial infection, either  acute or chronic, has been recognized since the middle years of the 19th century when medical scientists noticed that certain types of cancer often appear at sites of chronic inflammation. Today, medical researchers have made great strides in discovering that chronic inflammation does indeed contribute to the development of cancer (Lu, Ouyang, & Huang 221).

Exactly how inflammation exaggerates the chances of developing cancer is not clear, but most medical researchers and cancer specialists believe that reactive oxygen and nitrogen that is generated by inflammatory cells like leukocytes which attack damaged or infected sites to kill infective agents like viruses and bacteria, “may cause mutagenic assaults and result in tumor initiation” (Lu, Ouyang, & Huang 221). Researchers also agree that certain types of cancer are also driven by “a variety of mediators, including cytokines, chemokines, and enzymes which altogether establish an inflammatory microenvironment” (Lu, Ouyang, & Huang 221).

This information is supported by Seth R. Nahoun who declares that the “association between the development of cancer and inflammation has long-been appreciated” by medical researchers and scientists (“Why Cancer and Inflammation?”). Physiologically, the first inflammatory response, such as with a bacterial infection in the human gall bladder or the female ovaries) “orchestrates host defenses to microbial infection and mediates tissue repair and regeneration” (“Why Cancer and Inflammation?”). Epidemiologists or medical scientists that study the incidence, prevalence, spread, prevention, and control of diseases (Glanze 356) also agree that most evidence points to “a connection between inflammation and a predisposition for the development of cancer,” especially related to long-term inflammation (“Why Cancer and Inflammation?”). Epidemiological studies over the last ten years have also revealed that almost 20% of cancers are associated with microbial infection (“Why Cancer and Inflammation?”). Thus, the evidence seems to suggest that certain types of cancer can develop when specific body sites and internal organs become infected with bacteria which causes tissue inflammation.

Discussion

To be more precise, researchers have concluded that certain types of chronic infections or those that invade the human body via pathogenic micro-organisms that reproduce and multiply, thus causing disease via cellular damage (Glanze 619), does often result in cervical carcinoma or cervical cancer in women.  In addition, micro-organisms like microbes which includes bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi, and other microbial life forms (Glanze 754) “may cause cancer due to opportunistic infection” (Nahoun, “Why Cancer and Inflammation?”) in diseases like Kaposi’s sarcoma and cancer of the stomach caused by H. pylori bacterium. This type of invasive bacterium has also been recognized as causing colon cancer (Nahoun, “Why Cancer and Inflammation?”).

Inflammation has also been shown to exacerbate the conditions necessary for developing certain types of lung cancer. As noted by Nahoun, medical conditions “associated with chronic irritation and subsequent inflammation” (“Why Cancer and Inflammation?”) are often predisposed to cancer. A prime example of this phenomenon is cigarette smoking which often causes inflammation in the lungs via diseases like sarcoidosis, a chronic disorder of unknown origin characterized by scarring in the lungs due to smoking and exposure to certain types of irritants in the environment. In some cases, sarcoidosis as an inflammatory disorder can be found in the spleen, liver, mucous membranes, the salivary glands, and the lymph glands (Glanze 1051).

There also appears to be a link between inflammation, cancer, and genetics. According to Colotta, Allavena, Sica, Garlanda, et al., chronic inflammation or that which persists for a long period of time and often for the lifetime of the individual (Glanze 255), and tumor cell genetic instability appears to be “sufficient for carcinogenesis” or the development of cancerous tissue and malignant tumors (“Cancer-Related Inflammation,” 1075). Exactly how inflammation triggers DNA damage is not currently known; however, it is clear that “inflammatory cells and mediators can destabilize the cancer cell genome” or the complete set of genes in the chromosomes of every cell in the human body (Glanze 515). Also, researchers have demonstrated that chronic inflammation often contributes to cancer initiation and progression by destabilizing the genetic composition of the cancer cells (“Cancer-Related Inflammation,” 1075).

Inflammation, Cancer, and Weight Loss

There are of course numerous ways to decrease chronic inflammation in the human body, such as through the use of antibiotics for bacterial infections and vaccines for viral infections like HIV/AIDS and Herpes simplex. Some recent scientific research conducted by several prestigious American medical centers like the Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and some noted universities has revealed that weight loss when combined with vitamin D which is essential for the formation of bones and teeth and the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the human gastro-intestinal tract (Glanze 1238), greatly helps to reduce inflammation. This makes sense, due to the fact that human tissue reacts more positively when fat is reduced or eliminated from cellular bodies.

Basically, inflammation in a person who is overweight or obese places the immune system “in overdrive until the attack ceases and the inflammatory response abates” (Glanze 436). Therefore, overweight or obese individuals are in a constant state of inflammation which produces cytokines via the nuclear division of cytoplasm (Glanze 436). As described by Susan Bishop of the Hutchinson Cancer Center, many medical researchers agree that chronic inflammation is “pro-tumorigenic, meaning that it encourages the growth of cancer cells” (“Weight Loss Plus Vitamin D”). There is also some hard evidence that body mass “dilutes vitamin D, possibly by sequestering it in fat tissue” (“Weight Loss Plus Vitamin D”). Thus, it is clear that weight loss helps to reduce chronic inflammation which in turn lowers the risk of developing certain types of cancer.

Conclusion

As noted by Rakoff-Nahoun, more research is required in relation to the links between inflammation and certain types of cancer, especially concerning microbial infections in the gastro-intestinal tract caused by H. pylori which has been shown to lead to stomach and colon cancer in some individuals (“Why Cancer and Inflammation?”). What truly needs to be done is to determine the contributions of microbes to cancer which are crucial for colonization in an inflamed region of the human body.

Works Cited

Colotta, Francesco, Allavena, Paola, Sica, Antonio, Garlanda, Cecilia, et al. “Cancer-Related Inflammation, the Seventh Hallmark of Cancer: Links to Genetic Instability.” Carcinogenesis. (30)7. 1073-1081. Web. Accessed July 1, 2015. < http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/7/1073.full.pdf+html>.

Glanze, Walter D., ed. Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary. St. Louis, MO: C.V. Mosby Company, 2005.

Lu, Haitian, Ouyang, Weiming, and Huang, Chuanshu. “Inflammation, a Key Event in Cancer Development.” Molecular Cancer Research. 2006, (4)4. 221-233. Web. Accessed July 4, 2015. <http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/content/4/4/221.full.pdf+html>.

Nahoun, Seth Rakoff. “Why Cancer and Inflammation?” Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 2006. (79), 3-4. Web. Accessed July 4, 2015. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994795>.

“Weight Loss Plus Vitamin D Reduces Inflammation Linked to Cancer, Chronic Disease.” Web. Accessed July 4, 2015. <http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-06-weight-loss-vitamin-d-inflammation.html>.