A Review of Celluar Senescence and Tumor Treatment

Cellular senescence is a permanent state of cell cycle arrest, combined with the acquisition of a variety of secretory phenotypes. In addition to apoptosis, the induction of cellular senescence is an important mechanism that chemo- and radiotherapies and some targeted therapies rely on to produce an anti-tumor effect. However, being a self-protective mechanism of cells, cellular senescence can produce both positive and negative effects in tumor treatment. It remains a challenge to effectively utilize the anti-tumor effect of cellular senescence while averting the pro-tumor effect. How to improve the sensitivity of tumor treatment and to prevent tumor recurrence and metastasis has become the bottleneck in cellular senescence research. We summarize in this review the “double-edged-sword” effect of cellular senescence in tumor treatment. We summarize and discuss the cell autonomous and non-autonomous mechanisms that senescent cells use to affect tumor treatment, hoping to provide information that will help improve the outcome of tumor treatment and promote further research in basic and clinical application of cellular senescence in tumor treatment.