Aging and cancer cell biology, 2007

This Hot Topics review, the second in a new Aging Cell series, discusses articles published in the last year that have stimulated new ideas about the tangled relationship of aging to cancer cell biology. The year's highlights include reports on the ability of Mdm2 mutations to diminish risks of cancer in aging mice, on proliferative competition between oncogenic cells and bone marrow stem cells, and on the role of metalloproteinases in overcoming age-associated barriers to tumor invasion. Of particular interest were three articles showing that diminished activity of the tumor-suppressor gene p16/INK4a, while increasing the risk of cancer mortality, can lead to improved function in several varieties of age-sensitive stem cells.