| Summary: | Cellular senescence, originally defined as irreversible cell cycle arrest, was shown to act in organism as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, cellular senescence is considered an anti-cancer barrier and it beneficially contributes to processes such as wound healing and tissue regeneration. On the other hand, its longer persistence in the organism, usually when not eliminated by the immune system in elder age, cellular senescence contributes to age-related diseases and ageing itself. Moreover, senescent cells emerge as a result of radio- and chemo- therapy and can lead to detrimental effects when not eliminated. There is also accumulated evidence that senescent cells can overcome the proliferation barrier and become malignant (often after a cancer therapy) rendering senescence original definition invalid. In effort to improve the quality of health and life and to minimize the cancer risk after therapies, senescent cells have become one of the most interesting subjects for a targeted therapy. There is a promising potential in developing effective tools, namely drugs specifically killing senescent cells or reducing their detrimental effect (senolytics) that focus on senescent cells elimination in order to rejuvenate the organism, to extend a life span, and to prevent ageing-associated diseases and...
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