Back-to-back papers published in 'Cell Death Discovery' (23/06/2026+04/07/2026)

1. The “Hit-and-Run” legacy: epigenetic locking and the survival switch in H. pylori-associated gastric cancer 

This article introduces a novel "Survival Switch" hypothesis to explain the persistent risk of gastric cancer (GC) even after H. pylori eradication. The review's significance lies in shifting the clinical paradigm from simply eradicating the pathogen to a "Wake-up and Kill" strategy. This involves using epigenetic drugs to reverse the mesenchymal phenotype, thereby re-sensitizing refractory tumors to chemotherapy. Herein, we advocate for biomarker-guided patient stratification using liquid biopsies and nanocarrier-based RNA delivery to overcome the barriers of this aggressive disease.

2. Unlocking the ferroptotic window: Lipidomic rewiring and metabolic addiction in EMT-driven breast cancer resistance 

This perspective article addresses the critical challenge of acquired therapy resistance in breast cancer (BC) driven by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Herein, we propose a paradigm shift from traditional kinase inhibition to targeted protein degradation and highlight how partial-EMT (p-EMT) cells undergo lipidomic reprogramming and iron dysregulation. The proposed integrated approach includes combination of PROTAC-mediated EMT-induced kinases (EIKs) degradation with ferroptosis inducers and a multimodal liquid biopsy strategy to monitor and eradicate minimal residual disease. Ultimately, this roadmap offers a transformative strategy to overcome BC dormancy and resistance by exploiting metabolic addictions and redefining p-EMT as a targetable liability.