Lowe et al. found that in primary human monocytes and macrophages, the transcription factors p53 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) co-regulate genes that are associated with inflammation, such as interleukin-6 (IL6). Furthermore, tumour cell-derived factors activated p53 in tumour-associated macrophages and induced the expression of IL-6. This may be a tumour-promoting role of p53, in cooperation with NF-κB, but further work is required to understand precisely what effect this has on tumours.