Reactive Oxygen Species Bridge the Gap between Chronic Inflammation and Tumor Development

Figure 3

Redox homeostasis in normal and cancer cells. The production and elimination of ROS regulate cellular redox states. Under normal conditions, cells reach redox homeostasis because their antioxidant system is sufficient to scavenge low-level ROS. Interestingly, although malignant cells generate more ROS through the activation of ETC, oncogenes, and inflammatory stimuli, an enhanced Nrf2-dependent antioxidant system contributes to cellular redox homeostasis.