Necrosis

Necrosis describes a form of uncontrolled cell death characterised by loss of membrane integrity, cellular swelling, organelle breakdown, and release of intracellular contents that trigger inflammation and tissue damage. Unlike apoptosis, which is regulated and non-inflammatory, necrosis often results from acute injury such as hypoxia, infection, toxins, trauma, or severe metabolic stress.

The pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry considers necrosis in both disease biology and drug safety evaluation. In oncology, tumour necrosis may occur spontaneously due to rapid tumour growth outpacing blood supply, or may be induced by therapies disrupting vascularisation. In toxicology, necrosis in organs such as liver or kidney indicates severe drug-induced injury and represents a critical endpoint in preclinical safety studies. Mechanistic understanding differentiates necrotic injury from programmed cell death pathways, informing interpretation of biomarkers and histopathology findings. Emerging research explores regulated necrosis forms such as necroptosis as potential therapeutic targets in inflammatory diseases and neurodegeneration, expanding the therapeutic relevance of this fundamental cell death mechanism.