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REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1565278
This article is part of the Research Topic Implications of Senescence in Cancer Immunology View all articles
Senescence, NK Cells, and Cancer: Navigating the Crossroads of Aging and Disease
Provisionally accepted- Celularity Inc, Florham Park, New Jersey, United States
Cellular senescence, a state of stable cell cycle arrest, acts as a double-edged sword in cancer biology. In young organisms, it acts as a barrier against tumorigenesis, but in the aging population, it may facilitate tumor growth and metastasis through the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Natural killer (NK) cells play a critical role in the immune system, particularly in the surveillance, targeting, and elimination of malignant and senescent cells. However, age-related immunosenescence is characterized by declining NK cell function resulting in diminished ability to fight infection, eliminate senescent cells and suppress tumor development. This implies that preserving or augmenting NK cell function may be central to defense against age-related degenerative and malignant diseases. This review explores the underlying mechanisms behind these interactions, focusing on how aging influences the battle between the immune system and cancer, the implications of senescent NK cells in disease progression, and the potential of adoptive NK cell therapy as a countermeasure to these agerelated immunological challenges.
Keywords: cellular senescence, NK cells, Adoptive immunotherapy, NK cell therapy, Cancer
Received: 22 Jan 2025; Accepted: 18 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gergues, Bari, Koppisetti, Gosiewska, Kang and Hariri. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lin Kang, Celularity Inc, Florham Park, 07932, New Jersey, United States
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