Potential avenues for immunotherapy of colitis-associated neoplasia.

In patients with inflammatory bowel disease, chronic intestinal inflammation severely increases the risk for cancer development. In fact, various aspects of inflammation such as oxidative stress, cyclooxygenases and proinflammatory cytokines have been shown to support many aspects of cancer growth. During recent years, various experimental studies have increased our understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to colitis-associated cancer. In particular, cytokines such as TNF-α or IL-6, which are involved in the pathogenesis of inflammation and cancer development, could be promising targets for the molecular prevention of colitis-associated cancer.