Study Finds How Tumors Evade Chemotherapy

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have identified a mechanism that allows some cancer cells to survive chemotherapy and enter premature senescence, a non-dividing but metabolically active “zombie-like” state. The study, published in Science Advances, found that inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) block death receptors activated by chemotherapy-induced DNA damage, preventing the cells from being killed. The surviving cells can then engage the immune system’s wound-healing response, which may help tumors obtain nutrients and oxygen and recover after treatment. The findings clarify one way cancers exploit tissue-repair processes and could point to vulnerabilities for future therapies, though they do not establish an improved treatment is available now.