Senescence-associated inflammatory responses: aging and cancer perspectives

• An inflammatory response is one of the hallmarks of cellular senescence.
• It serves to both propagate the senescence process and facilitate its clearance.
• Senescence–inflammatory response may support tumor proliferation and invasion.
• Blocking the response is potentially therapeutic in cancer and aging-related diseases.
• This may be achieved by specific anti-inflammatory agents and NSAIDs.

Senescent cells, albeit not proliferating, are metabolically and transcriptionally active, thereby capable of affecting their microenvironment, notably via the production of inflammatory mediators. These mediators maintain and propagate the senescence process to neighboring cells, and then recruit immune cells for clearing senescent cells. Among the inflammatory cues are molecules with pronounced tumor-controlling properties, both growth and invasion factors and inhibitory factors, working directly or via recruited immune cells. These senescence–inflammatory effects also prevail within tumors, mediated by the senescent tumor cells and the senescent tumor stroma. Here, we review the course and impact of senescence-associated inflammatory responses in aging and cancer. We propose that controlling senescence-associated inflammation by targeting specific inflammatory mediators may have a beneficial therapeutic effect in treatment of cancer and aging-related diseases.