# Hallmark: resisting cell death

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/resisting-cell-death/  
OnCo record `resisting-cell-death` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Resisting cell death is the hallmark by which cancer cells disable their self-destruct programmes, chiefly apoptosis.

## Summary

Resisting cell death is the hallmark by which cancer cells disable their own self-destruct programmes, chiefly apoptosis. It is achieved through BCL-2 family overexpression, p53 loss, IAP upregulation and dependence on autophagy, which is why the linked targets are BCL-2 and TP53 and the linked pathways are Intrinsic apoptosis (BCL-2 family), Autophagy, and Ferroptosis & regulated cell death. BH3 mimetics such as Venetoclax restore apoptosis, while ferroptosis and necroptosis are alternative death routes now being exploited. Readers meet this hallmark from the Hallmarks of Cancer overview, the 2000 hallmarks paper, the Apoptosis entry and the ferroptosis pathway page.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: hallmark

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hallmarks_of_Cancer
- Hanahan, Hallmarks of Cancer: New Dimensions (Cancer Discovery 2022): https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-1059

## Connected records

- targets: [BCL-2](https://onco.cc/targets/bcl2/), [TP53](https://onco.cc/targets/tp53/)
- drugs: [Venetoclax](https://onco.cc/drugs/venetoclax/)
- pathways: [Autophagy](https://onco.cc/pathways/autophagy/), [Ferroptosis & regulated cell death](https://onco.cc/pathways/ferroptosis-cell-death/), [Intrinsic apoptosis (BCL-2 family)](https://onco.cc/pathways/apoptosis-bcl2/)
- terms: [Apoptosis](https://onco.cc/terms/apoptosis/), [Hallmarks of Cancer](https://onco.cc/terms/hallmarks-of-cancer/), [Hallmarks of cancer as a synthesis of the theories](https://onco.cc/terms/hallmarks-synthesis/)
- key papers: [The Hallmarks of Cancer: six capabilities every tumour must acquire](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-hallmarks-of-cancer-cell-2000/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/resisting-cell-death.json