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Ferroptosis: activating iron to overcome treatment-resistant cancers?
23 juin 2025
#Ferroptosis #ResistantCancer #LysosomalIron #CD44 #Pancreas #Sarcoma
Aggressive solid tumors, such as pancreatic cancer or certain sarcomas, have a remarkable ability to evade treatment. These cancers often harbor a subset of cells known as “drug-tolerant persister cells” (DTPs), capable of surviving conventional therapies. A Franco-international team has recently uncovered an unsuspected vulnerability: their dependency on iron—specifically, iron stored within lysosomes.
A study led by Raphaël Rodriguez, published in Nature in June 2025, reveals that targeted activation of lysosomal iron triggers ferroptosis, a form of cell death driven by lipid peroxidation. This research paves the way for a novel therapeutic strategy—one that targets not the tumor’s genetics, but its cellular state and iron metabolism.
Aggressive solid tumors, such as pancreatic cancer or certain sarcomas, have a remarkable ability to evade treatment. These cancers often harbor a subset of cells known as “drug-tolerant persister cells” (DTPs), capable of surviving conventional therapies. A Franco-international team has recently uncovered an unsuspected vulnerability: their dependency on iron—specifically, iron stored within lysosomes.
A study led by Raphaël Rodriguez, published in Nature in June 2025, reveals that targeted activation of lysosomal iron triggers ferroptosis, a form of cell death driven by lipid peroxidation. This research paves the way for a novel therapeutic strategy—one that targets not the tumor’s genetics, but its cellular state and iron metabolism.
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Scientific reference
Cañeque, T. et al. Activation of lysosomal iron triggers ferroptosis in cancer. Nature, 12 juin 2025.
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