How cancers evade chemotherapy by entering a 'zombie-like state'

A Trinity College Dublin team reports in Science Advances that inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) neutralize death receptors activated by chemotherapy, driving cancer cells into a premature senescence "zombie state" and recruiting immune cells that aid tumor recovery; IAP antagonists can selectively clear these senescent cells (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aed4541).