News Life Disabling cellular assassin prevents cancer Counterintuitive experiment may help explain why survivors are more vulnerable to other malignancies By Tina Hesman Saey July 31, 2010 at 4:45 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print Being overly protective can backfire. That’s a lesson that many parents have learned and cancer biologists are beginning to recognize. Killing off damaged cells is supposed to help protect against cancer, but two new studies show that a massive die-off can lead to the disease instead.