Inflammation, Fibrosis and Cancer: Mechanisms, Therapeutic Options and Challenges

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Inflammation is like the proverbial double-edged sword. Controlled short-term inflammation could be a protective response while uncontrolled inflammation sustains multiple disease types, including several chronic diseases and cancers. The aim of this review article was to provide an in-depth analysis of the relationships and distinctions between uncontrolled inflammation, fibrosis and cancers. Herein, we emphasized the challenges and opportunities of developing novel therapies for the treatment and/or management of these diseases. We described how the therapeutic benefits of current agents could be enhanced through drug delivery systems, combination therapy and the integration of tissue-targeted and/or pathways selective strategies. In the pursuit of the next generation of safer therapies, we also postulated on the value of the re-evaluation of the disease-specific roles of multiple pathways implicated in the development and sustenance of chronic inflammatory diseases and cancers as well as the application of single-cell screening technologies in the discovery of novel disease-relevant proteins for the more precise targeting of these diseases. ABSTRACT: Uncontrolled inflammation is a salient factor in multiple chronic inflammatory diseases and cancers. In this review, we provided an in-depth analysis of the relationships and distinctions between uncontrolled inflammation, fibrosis and cancers, while emphasizing the challenges and opportunities of developing novel therapies for the treatment and/or management of these diseases. We described how drug delivery systems, combination therapy and the integration of tissue-targeted and/or pathways selective strategies could overcome the challenges of current agents for managing and/or treating chronic inflammatory diseases and cancers. We also recognized the value of the re-evaluation of the disease-specific roles of multiple pathways implicated in the pathophysiology of chronic inflammatory diseases and cancers—as well as the application of data from single-cell RNA sequencing in the success of future drug discovery endeavors.