
The way cancer tricks the immune system
The link between inflammation and cancer have only recently been studied, but epidemiological cancer research show a convincing association between them. For example, hepatitis is often followed by the development of liver cancer, ulcerative colitis is a risk factor for colon cancer, and inflammation due to infection by Helicobacter pylori precedes the majority of gastric cancers. In the lungs also, the risk of developing lung cancer is higher in patients suffering from asthma or chronic bronchitis or smoking.
Although a short time inflammation is a necessary process to protect your body against infection or to repair injury, unresolved chronic inflammation promote cancer formation by providing an appropriate environment for the cancer to growth.
Based on present cancer research, the NF-kB and COX-2 pathways have emerged as important links between inflammation and cancer. Also obesity, with the production of increasing inflammation state put your body as a favorable torrent to grow cancer cells.
Some functional foods are known to inhibit both pathway. Here the list
1. Apple
2. Cranberries
3. Fish
4. Ground flaxseed
5. Olive oil
6. Raspberries
7. Red grape
8. Strawberry
9. Tomatoes
10. Turcumin
11. Red wine
References
1. Dranoff, G. Cytokines in cancer pathogenesis and cancer therapy. Nature Reviews Cancer. 2004;4(1):11–22.
2. Lin, W-W; Karin, M. A cytokine-mediated link between innate immunity, inflammation, and cancer. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2007;117(5):1175–1183.
3. Van Ginderachter, JA; Movahedi, K; Van den Bossche, J; De Baetselier, P. Macrophages, PPARs, and cancer. PPAR Research. 2008;2008:11 pages. Article ID 169414.
4. Karin, M. The I?B kinase—a bridge between inflammation and cancer. Cell Research. 2008;18(3):334–342.
5. Boffetta, P; Ye, W; Boman, G; Nyrén, O. Lung cancer risk in a population-based cohort of patients hospitalized for asthma in Sweden. European Respiratory Journal. 2002;19(1):127–133.
6. Sasco, AJ; Merrill, RM; Dari, I, et al. A case-control study of lung cancer in Casablanca, Morocco. Cancer Causes and Control. 2002;13(7):609–616.
