Caspase-3 and prostaglandins signal for tumor regrowth in cancer therapy

Chemo- and radio-therapeutic regimens frequently kill cancer cells by inducing apoptosis, a cell-death subroutine that involves the activation of a particular class of proteases called caspases. In a recent issue of Nature Medicine, Huang et al. (2011) show that caspase activation in dying tumor cells causes the release of soluble lipid messengers, notably prostaglandin E-2, that stimulate tumor cell proliferation. In this short review, we will discuss the clinical and therapeutic implications of these findings. Oncogene (2012) 31, 2805-2808; doi:10.1038/onc.2011.459; published online 3 October 2011