Mechanisms of carboplatin‐ and paclitaxel‐dependent induction of premature senescence and pro‐cancerogenic conversion of normal peritoneal mesothelium and fibroblasts

Abstract Carboplatin (CPT) and paclitaxel (PCT) are the optimal non‐surgical treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Although their growth‐restricting influence on EOC cells is well known, their impact on normal peritoneal cells, including mesothelium (PMCs) and fibroblasts (PFBs), is poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether, and if so, by what mechanism, CPT and PCT induce senescence of omental PMCs and PFBs. In addition, we tested whether PMC and PFB exposure to the drugs promotes the development of a pro‐cancerogenic phenotype. The results showed that CPT and PCT induce G2/M growth arrest‐associated senescence of normal peritoneal cells and that the strongest induction occurs when the drugs act together. PMCs senesce telomere‐independently with an elevated p16 level and via activation of AKT and STAT3. In PFBs, telomeres shorten along with an induction of p21 and p53, and their senescence proceeds via the activation of ERK1/2. Oxidative stress in CPT + PCT‐treated PMCs and PFBs is extensive and contributes causatively to their premature senescence. Both PMCs and PFBs exposed to CPT + PCT fuel the proliferation, migration, and invasion of established (A2780, OVCAR‐3, SKOV‐3) and primary EOCs, and this activity is linked with an overproduction of multiple cytokines altering the cancer cell transcriptome and controlled by p38 MAPK, NF‐κB, STAT3, Notch1, and JAK1. Collectively, our findings indicate that CPT and PCT lead to iatrogenic senescence of normal peritoneal cells, which paradoxically and opposing therapeutic needs alters their phenotype towards pro‐cancerogenic. It cannot be excluded that these adverse outcomes of chemotherapy may contribute to EOC relapse in the case of incomplete tumor eradication and residual disease initiation. © 2023 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.