Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 2, 2026

Defining Gene Functions in Tumorigenesis by Ex vivo Ablation of Floxed Alleles in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Cells
09:37

Defining Gene Functions in Tumorigenesis by Ex vivo Ablation of Floxed Alleles in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Cells

Published on: August 25, 2021

2.2K

Decoding Programmed Cell Death Genes: Innovations in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Aman Kumar1, Balak Das Kurmi1

  • 1Department of Pharmaceutics, ISF College of Pharmacy, GT Road, Moga-142001, Punjab, India.

Current Gene Therapy
|April 1, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Programmed cell death (PCD) pathways are crucial in cancer. Understanding their interactions and targeting vulnerabilities like ferroptosis offers new precision oncology strategies for better cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Medicine

Background:

  • Programmed cell death (PCD) encompasses multiple pathways (apoptosis, autophagy, ferroptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis) critical for cancer.
  • These pathways significantly impact cancer initiation, progression, and response to therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To summarize recent mechanistic insights into PCD pathways in cancer.
  • To highlight the crosstalk between different PCD pathways.
  • To underscore the diagnostic and therapeutic relevance of PCD-associated genes for precision oncology.

Main Methods:

  • This perspective synthesizes current research on PCD mechanisms.
  • It reviews advances in biomarker discovery and targeted small molecules.
  • It discusses the immunomodulatory effects of PCD and challenges in clinical application.

Main Results:

  • PCD pathways are interconnected and influence cancer development and treatment.
  • Ferroptosis is identified as a key therapeutic vulnerability.
  • Biomarker discovery, targeted therapies, and understanding immunomodulatory effects are advancing precision oncology.

Conclusions:

  • Harnessing PCD pathways, particularly ferroptosis, with improved specificity holds promise for more effective and durable cancer treatments.
  • Addressing challenges like inflammatory toxicity and pathway switching is essential for clinical translation.
Keywords:
Programmed cell deathapoptosisautophagycancer therapeuticsferroptosisnecroptosis.tumour microenvironment

More Related Videos

MEDUSA for Identifying Death Regulatory Genes in Chemo-genetic Profiling Data07:17

MEDUSA for Identifying Death Regulatory Genes in Chemo-genetic Profiling Data

Published on: February 7, 2025

965
Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts10:27

Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts

Published on: July 25, 2020

8.1K

Related Concept Videos

Overview of Cell Death01:30

Overview of Cell Death

Cell death is an essential process where the body gets rid of old or damaged cells. Cell proliferation and death need to be balanced, as an imbalance between the two may lead to cancer or autoimmune diseases.
Cell death was observed in the early 19th century, but there was no experimental evidence to prove it. In 1842, Carl Vogt first discovered cell death in a metamorphic toad; however, it was not termed ‘cell death.’ Scientists discovered different cell death pathways only in the...
11.1K
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine02:50

Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine

Combining two or more treatment methods increases the life span of cancer patients while reducing damage to vital organs or tissue from the overuse of a single treatment. Combination therapy also targets different cancer-inducing pathways, thus reducing the chances of developing resistance to treatment.
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
6.3K
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
10.1K
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

3.0K
The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:31

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

Internal cellular stress, such as cellular injury or hypoxia, triggers intrinsic apoptosis. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins are the primary regulators of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. For example, during DNA damage, checkpoint proteins, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM protein) and Checkpoints Factor-2 (Chk2) proteins, are activated. These proteins phosphorylate p53 which further activates pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, PUMA, and Noxa, and inhibits...
9.2K
Apoptosis01:30

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a combination of two Greek words, 'apo' and 'ptosis,' meaning separation and falling off, respectively. Hippocrates used this word to describe gangrene, which was caused due to bandaging of fractured bones. Apoptosis was distinguished from necrosis in 1970 when John Kerr reported observations of morphological changes occurring during apoptosis. During one experiment, he observed that the disruption of blood supply to the liver tissue resulted in a size...
16.9K