Expanding the Role of STING in Cellular Homeostasis and Transformation

The cytosolic DNA-sensing cGAS–STING pathway was originally characterized as a key innate immune mediator responsible for the induction of antiviral genes in response to foreign DNA species in the cytosol. Mounting evidence, however, points to a complex role for cGAS and STING in cancer. Two recent reports, by Ranoa et al. ( Cancer Research, 2018;https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-1972) and Nassour et al. ( Nature 2019;565:659–663), dissect the function of this pathway during the early steps of cellular transformation and shed light on the complexity and context-dependence of cGAS–STING signaling in cancer