The Role of Chronic Inflammation in the Development of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Chronic inflammation contributes to the malignant transformation of several malignancies and is an important component of breast cancer. The role of chronic inflammation in the initiation and development of breast cancer from normal breast tissue, however, is unclear and needs to be clarified. A review of the literature was conducted to define the chronic inflammatory processes in normal breast tissue at risk for breast cancer and in breast cancer, including the role of lymphocyte and macrophage infiltrates, chronic active adipocytes and fibroblasts, and processes that may promote chronic inflammation including the microbiome and factors related to genomic abnormalities and cellular injury. The findings indicate that in healthy normal breast tissue there is systemic evidence to suggest inflammatory changes are present and associated with breast cancer risk, and adipocytes and crown-like structures in normal breast tissue may be associated with chronic inflammatory changes. The microbiome, genomic abnormalities, and cellular changes are present in healthy normal breast tissue, with the potential to elicit inflammatory changes, while infiltrating lymphocytes are uncommon in these tissues. Chronic inflammatory changes occur prominently in breast cancer tissues, with important contributions from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and tumor-associated macrophages, cancer-associated adipocytes and crown-like structures, and cancer-associated fibroblasts, while the microbiome and DNA damage may serve to promote inflammatory events. Together, these findings suggest that chronic inflammation may play a role in influencing the initiation, development and conduct of breast cancer, although several chronic inflammatory processes in breast tissue may occur later in breast carcinogenesis.

Anti-Inflammatory Effect of 4,5-Dicaffeoylquinic Acid on RAW264.7 Cells and a Rat Model of Inflammation

“…Ultimately, through the normal inflammatory response, the inflammatory response gradually diminished when the antigen is removed [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. However, abnormally regulated and sustained inflammatory responses cause secondary illnesses and lead to chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma and arthritis if not properly treated [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Although anti-inflammatory agents effectively suppress inflammation, their use is restricted because they cause side effects, such as gastrointestinal disorders [ 9 , 10 ].…”

“…In the acute phase of the inflammatory response, immune cells migrate to damaged tissues and promote healing by releasing soluble mediators such as cytokines, chemokines, and acute phase proteins [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Persistent inflammation due to long-term irritation or inappropriate cellular reactions causes tissue damage and fibrosis, leading to chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Therefore, it is important to properly regulate inflammatory responses.…”

Development of an Inflammation-Related lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA Network Based on Competing Endogenous RNA in Breast Cancer at Single-Cell Resolution

“…After that inflammation has been recognized to contribute to malignant transformation of several types of human malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer and gastric cancer ( Multhoff et al, 2011 ). Inflammation is also a key component of breast carcinogenesis ( Danforth, 2021 ). However, its roles and molecular mechanism in the initiation and progression of breast cancer is still unclear and need to be further elucidated.…”

The association between plasma chemokines and breast cancer risk and prognosis: A Mendelian randomization study

“…At the first stage of malignant evolution, chronic inflammation may play an important role during the initiation, development and prognosis of breast cancer [4], in which chemokines might regulate the migration of immune cells toward the tumor and act as biomarkers for breast cancer.…”

“…At the first stage of malignant evolution, chronic inflammation may play an important role during the initiation, development and prognosis of breast cancer [4], in which chemokines might regulate the migration of immune cells toward the tumor and act as biomarkers for breast cancer. Studies have shown that CCL-4, -7, -8, -11, -15, -16, -19, -22, -23, -24, -25 and CXCL-5, -8, -9, and -16 were increased in breast cancer compared with normal adjacent breast tissue [5], and genetic polymorphisms near genes encoding CCL-2, -4, -5, -20, -22, CXCL-10, -12 and XCL-1 were found to be associated with the risk and prognosis of breast cancer [6-13].…”