Can loss of apoptosis protect against cancer?

Cells of higher organisms can commit suicide in response to genomic alterations, a process called programmed cell death. Although it is commonly thought that the loss of programmed cell death is required for carcinogenesis, we argue that the situation is more complex and that the loss of programmed cell death can have the converse effect, preventing cancer progression. If the death rate of cancer cells is low, fewer cell divisions are required for the tumor to reach a certain size, resulting in the presence of fewer mutant cells. Therefore, the chances of overcoming potential selective barriers are reduced, rendering the failure of pathogenic progression probable. However, if there is a higher cell death rate, more cell divisions need to occur for the tumor to reach a certain size, resulting in the presence of more mutant cells and in an increased probability of overcoming selective barriers and cancer progression.