Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of pattern recognition receptors that are best-known
for their role in host defence from infection. Emerging evidence also suggests that TLRs
have an important role in maintaining tissue homeostasis by regulating the inflammatory and
tissue repair responses to injury. The development of cancer has been associated with
microbial infection, injury, inflammation and tissue repair. Here we discuss how the function
of TLRs may relate to these processes in the context of carcinogenesis.