Necroptosis, tumor necrosis and tumorigenesis

Necroptosis, known as programmed necrosis, is a form of caspase-independent, finely regulated cell death with necrotic morphology. Tumor necrosis, foci of necrotic cell death, occurs in advanced solid tumors and is often associated with poor prognosis of cancer patients. While it is well documented that apoptosis plays a key role in tumor regression and the inactivation of apoptosis is pivotal to tumor development, the role of necroptosis in tumorigenesis is still not fully understood as recent studies have reported both tumor-promoting and tumor-suppressing effects of necroptosis. In this short review, we will discuss some recent studies about the role of necroptosis in tumorigenesis and speculate the implications of these findings in future research and potential novel cancer therapy targeting necroptosis.