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Senescence as a therapeutic target in cancer and age-related diseases

McHugh, Domhnall, Durán, Imanol, Gil, Jesús·2025·Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
DOI 10.1038/s41573-024-01074-4
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Abstract

Cellular senescence is a stress response that restrains the growth of aged, damaged or abnormal cells. Thus, senescence has a crucial role in development, tissue maintenance and cancer prevention. However, lingering senescent cells fuel chronic inflammation through the acquisition of a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which contributes to cancer and age-related tissue dysfunction. Recent progress in understanding senescence has spurred interest in the development of approaches to target senescent cells, known as senotherapies. In this Review, we evaluate the status of various types of senotherapies, including senolytics that eliminate senescent cells, senomorphics that suppress the SASP, interventions that mitigate senescence and strategies that harness the immune system to clear senescent cells. We also summarize how these approaches can be combined with cancer therapies, and we discuss the challenges and opportunities in moving senotherapies into clinical practice. Such therapies have the potential to address root causes of age-related diseases and thus open new avenues for preventive therapies and treating multimorbidities.

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Metadata

Authors
McHugh, D., Durán, I., & Gil, J.
Venue
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-11-15
Volume
24
Issue
1
Pages
57-71
ISSN
  • 1474-1776
  • 1474-1784
DOI
10.1038/s41573-024-01074-4
Cited by
197
References
103
Language
en
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