Lymphoma lurks within aged B cells

Abstract

Cancer and aging are inextricably linked conditions. However, whether cancer emerges as a byproduct of the aging process or whether aged cells themselves are prone to become neoplastic remains enigmatic. A study by Castro, Shindyapina and colleagues now provides support for the latter by demonstrating that in aged mice that spontaneously develop lymphomas, tumors originate from clonally expanded age-associated B cells.