Cancer-related inflammation: Common themes and therapeutic opportunities

Inflammatory cells and mediators are an essential component of the tumor microenvironment. Inflammatory circuits can differ considerably in different tumors in terms of cellular and cytokine networks and molecular drivers. However, macrophages are a common and fundamental component of cancer promoting inflammation. Drivers of macrophage functional orientation include tumor cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, T cells and B cells. Dissection of the diversity of cancer-related inflammation is instrumental to the design of therapeutic approaches that target cancer-related inflammation.