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Toll-like receptors (TLRs) belong to a class of pattern-recognition receptors that play an important role in host defense against pathogens by recognizing a wide variety of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Besides driving inflammatory responses, TLRs also regulate cell proliferation and survival by expanding useful immune cells and integrating inflammatory responses and tissue repair processes. TLR signaling, which is centrally involved in the initiation of both innate and adaptive immune responses, has been thought to be restricted to immune cells. However, recent studies have shown that functional TLRs are expressed not only on immune cells, but also on cancer cells, thus implicating a role of TLRs in tumor biology. Increasing bodies of evidence have suggested that TLRs act as a double-edged sword in cancer cells because uncontrolled TLR signaling provides a microenvironment …