Aging is the predominant risk factor for cancer, with over 90% of cancers arising in individuals older than 50 years. It is associated with increased cancer incidence, poorer prognosis, and decreased therapeutic efficacy. Beyond merely allowing time for mutation accumulation, aging actively remodels tumorigenesis through interconnected cell intrinsic and cell extrinsic mechanisms. Yet, the mechanisms linking aging and cancer have not been fully elucidated. Integrating aging biology into cancer research represents a frontier for improving outcomes in growing population of elderly cancer patients. This review synthesizes recent advances in these interconnected mechanisms between aging and tumorigenesis through both cell intrinsic and cell extrinsic mechanisms, discusses the paradoxical decline in cancer incidence among super agers, and discusses emerging therapeutic strategies that target aging pathways, including immune rejuvenation, senolytics, and senomorphics to treat cancer in growing elderly population.
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Wu et al. (2026) studied this question.
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