The Potential of Senescence as a Target for Developing Anticancer Therapy

Senescence occurs in response to various stimuli. Senescence has attracted attention because of its potential use in anticancer therapy as it plays a tumor-suppressive role. It also promotes tumorigeneses and therapeutic resistance. Since senescence can induce therapeutic resistance, targeting senescence may help to overcome therapeutic resistance. This review provides the mechanisms of senescence induction and the roles of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in various life processes, including therapeutic resistance and tumorigenesis. The SASP exerts pro-tumorigenic or antitumorigenic effects in a context-dependent manner. This review also discusses the roles of autophagy, histone deacetylases (HDACs), and microRNAs in senescence. Many reports have suggested that targeting HDACs or miRNAs could induce senescence, which, in turn, could enhance the effects of current anticancer drugs. This review presents the view that senescence induction is a powerful method of inhibiting cancer cell proliferation.

Automated summary

Senescence has the potential to be used in anticancer therapy as it has both tumor-suppressive and tumorigenic effects. Targeting senescence may help to overcome therapeutic resistance. This review discusses the mechanisms of senescence induction and the roles of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in various life processes, including therapeutic resistance and tumorigenesis. The review also explores the roles of autophagy, histone deacetylases (HDACs), and microRNAs in senescence.