Decoding Programmed Cell Death Genes: Innovations in Cancer Diagnosisand Treatment

Programmed cell death (PCD) profoundly influences cancer initiation, progression, and therapeutic response through interconnected pathways such as apoptosis, autophagy, ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis. This perspective summarizes recent mechanistic insights, highlights pathway crosstalk, and underscores the diagnostic and therapeutic relevance of PCD-associated genes. Advances in biomarker discovery, targeted small molecules, and the immunomodulatory effects of PCD offer promising avenues for precision oncology. Emphasis is placed on ferroptosis as a rising therapeutic vulnerability and on addressing key challenges, including inflammatory toxicity, pathway switching, and biomarker standardization. Harnessing PCD with improved specificity may enable more effective and durable cancer treatments.