Role of Inteleuchin-6 in breast cancer stem-like cells

Inflammation triggers pathological warnings in the human body including infection, autoimmune disease, metabolic syndrome and cancer. In this book the authors determine the molecular effect of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 in breast cancer. The authors describe several mechanisms by which IL-6 exposure can foster tumor progression via the expansion of a specific population of cancer cells, called cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells represent a small fraction of each tumor and dictate tumor progression toward a pro-metastatic phenotype. The authors unravel a unique mechanism by means IL-6 mediated the conversion of non-stem cells into CSCs capable of surviving in tumor-stoma niches and hypoxic niches. Inflammation, hypoxia, CSCs and breast cancer share the up-regulation of IL-6 as a common mediator of malignancy.