Senescence is a state in which stressed cells stop dividing but remain alive. New findings reveal that the underlying process unfolds in distinct stages that depend on the type of drug used, and show how a new class of drugs triggers inflammation. The results point the way to a strategy for tuning therapies to avoid inflammation-promoting side effects, particularly for patients with liposarcoma and ER-positive breast cancer.

Researchers at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) have identified a ‘master switch’ responsible for driving tumour growth in an aggressive form of breast cancer. Blocking the switch with a targeted drug was also found to reduce cancer cell growth and reduce its spread.