G-quadruplex structures as regulators of cellular processes and drivers of genome instability in cancer.
G-quadruplexes (G4s) are essential regulatory structures whose biological functions are inseparable from their potential to destabilize the genome. They play critical roles in transcription, replication and chromatin architecture, yet they also contribute to the genomic instability that fuels cancer. This dual role is an inherent consequence of where G4s form in the genome. G4s are enriched at highly active regulatory regions, including promoters, replication origins and topologically associated domain boundaries, where their controlled formation and resolution by helicases and topoisomerases support normal genome function. When this control is lost, the same features that make G4s functional become harmful, leading to R-loop and G-loop accumulation, replication fork stalling and increased conflicts between transcription and replication. Topoisomerase activity, which normally relieves supercoiling stress, can instead generate the DNA double-strand breaks that characterize cancer genomes. Persistent G4 structures also promote micronuclei formation and cytoplasmic DNA accumulation, activating the cGAS-STING innate immune signaling pathway. Here, we discuss these mechanisms and present pan-cancer genomic analyses showing that these processes operate broadly across human tumors. Therapeutically targeting G4s requires balancing their essential regulatory roles with their pathological effects. Understanding this tension is therefore essential for exploiting G4s as therapeutic targets across cancer types.