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The tumour suppressor p53 directs cells towards different fates depending on the cell type and the stimulus. The decision to direct a cell towards apoptosis rather than cell‐cycle arrest or senescence has important implications for tumour suppression in normal cells and drug response in tumour cells. Cells that undergo senescence and growth arrest can persist and contribute to organismal ageing (Campisi, 2005), or they can contribute to tumour relapse (Jackson et al , 2012). In this issue of The EMBO Journal , Hopker et al (2012) show in a comprehensive study that the RNA PolII binding protein CHE1/AATF is a factor that determines the fate of cells that have activated the p53 pathway.

The tumour suppressor p53 directs cells towards different fates depending on the cell type and the stimulus. The decision to direct a cell towards apoptosis rather than cell-cycle arrest or senescence has important implications for tumour suppression in normal cells and drug response in tumour cells. Cells that undergo senescence and growth arrest can persist and contribute to organismal ageing (Campisi, 2005), or they can contribute to tumour relapse (Jackson et al, 2012). In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Höpker et al (2012) show in a comprehensive study that the RNA PolII binding protein CHE1/AATF is a factor that determines the fate of cells that have activated the p53 pathway.