CXCR2 blockers stop cancer

Formation of tumours can be significantly reduced by inhibition of a receptor that drives inflammation, according to a British-German research team.
According to the scientists headed by Robert Nibbs from Biomedical Research Centre Glasgow, inhibition of the chemokine receptor CXCR2 „profoundly suppressed inflammation-driven tumourigenesis in models for skin and intestinal cancers as well as in adenomas“ (JCI, doi: 1172/JCI61067). Either chemical blocking of CXCR2 or knock-out of the receptor gene prevented proinflammatory chemokines, which were selectively expressed in adenomas, skin and intestinal tumours, to bind to the receptor. CXCR2 deficiency inhibited recruitment of neutrophils and tumour-associated leukocytes, according to the authors from Glasgow and their partners from Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
Chronic inflammation is found frequently in the development of a number of benign and malignant cancers, particularly in colorectal cancers where ulcerative colitis increases the risk of developing colon cancer 20-fold. Treatment of patients with ulcerative colitis with anti-inflammatory compounds can reduce their cancer risk by 50%. Thus, the researchers believe that CRCX2 blockers may be attractive therapeutic targets to prevent and treat inflammation-driven cancers.