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Tsatsakis A, Oikonomopoulou T, Nikolouzakis TK, Vakonaki E, Tzatzarakis M, Flamourakis M, Renieri E, Fragkiadaki P, Iliaki E, Bachlitzanaki M, Karzi V, Katsikantami I, Kakridonis F, Hatzidaki E, Tolia M, Svistunov AA, Spandidos DA, Nikitovic D, Tsiaoussis J, Berdiaki A. Role of telomere length in human carcinogenesis (Review). Int J Oncol 2023; 63:78. [PMID: 37232367 PMCID: PMC10552730 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2023.5526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer is considered the most important clinical, social and economic issue regarding cause‑specific disability‑adjusted life years among all human pathologies. Exogenous, endogenous and individual factors, including genetic predisposition, participate in cancer triggering. Telomeres are specific DNA structures positioned at the end of chromosomes and consist of repetitive nucleotide sequences, which, together with shelterin proteins, facilitate the maintenance of chromosome stability, while protecting them from genomic erosion. Even though the connection between telomere status and carcinogenesis has been identified, the absence of a universal or even a cancer‑specific trend renders consent even more complex. It is indicative that both short and long telomere lengths have been associated with a high risk of cancer incidence. When evaluating risk associations between cancer and telomere length, a disparity appears to emerge. Even though shorter telomeres have been adopted as a marker of poorer health status and an older biological age, longer telomeres due to increased cell growth potential are associated with the acquirement of cancer‑initiating somatic mutations. Therefore, the present review aimed to comprehensively present the multifaceted pattern of telomere length and cancer incidence association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aristidis Tsatsakis
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | - Tatiana Oikonomopoulou
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | - Taxiarchis Konstantinos Nikolouzakis
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | - Elena Vakonaki
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | - Manolis Tzatzarakis
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | | | - Elisavet Renieri
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | | | - Evaggelia Iliaki
- Laboratory of Microbiology, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71500 Heraklion
| | - Maria Bachlitzanaki
- Department of Medical Oncology, Venizeleion General Hospital of Heraklion, 71409 Heraklion
| | - Vasiliki Karzi
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | - Ioanna Katsikantami
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | - Fotios Kakridonis
- Department of Spine Surgery and Scoliosis, KAT General Hospital, 14561 Athens
| | - Eleftheria Hatzidaki
- Department of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), University Hospital of Heraklion, 71500 Heraklion
| | - Maria Tolia
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital of Crete, 71110 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Andrey A. Svistunov
- Department of Pharmacology, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 119146 Moscow, Russia
| | - Demetrios A. Spandidos
- Laboratory of Clinical Virology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Dragana Nikitovic
- Laboratory of Histology-Embryology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - John Tsiaoussis
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion
| | - Aikaterini Berdiaki
- Laboratory of Histology-Embryology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
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Pauleck S, Gigic B, Cawthon RM, Ose J, Peoples AR, Warby CA, Sinnott JA, Lin T, Boehm J, Schrotz-King P, Li CI, Shibata D, Siegel EM, Figueiredo JC, Toriola AT, Schneider M, Ulrich AB, Hoffmeister A, Ulrich CM, Hardikar S. Association of circulating leukocyte telomere length with survival in patients with colorectal cancer. J Geriatr Oncol 2022; 13:480-485. [PMID: 34998722 PMCID: PMC9197691 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgo.2021.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Telomere shortening, as seen with aging, can cause chromosomal instability and promote cancer progression. We investigated the association between circulating telomere length and overall and disease-free survival in a sub-cohort of patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS Baseline genomic DNA from blood leukocytes was extracted from N = 92 newly diagnosed stage I-IV patients with colorectal cancer enrolled at the ColoCare Study site in Heidelberg, Germany. Detailed information on clinicodemographic (including age) and lifestyle risk factors, and clinical outcomes (including recurrence and survival) was collected. Telomere length was measured in DNA using multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Kaplan Meier survival curves were generated comparing shorter to longer telomere lengths with log-rank testing. RESULTS The mean T/S ratio for study patients was 0.5 (range: 0.3-0.9). Shorter telomeres were associated with older age at baseline. Patients with shorter telomeres experienced a worse overall and disease-free survival, although this association did not reach statistical significance. Kaplan-Meier survival curves for those with circulating telomere length below vs. above the median showed poorer overall (log-rank p = 0.31) and disease-free survival (long-rank p = 0.23). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that individuals with shorter telomeres, as seen with aging, may experience a worse overall and disease-free survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis. Larger sample sizes with longer follow-up are needed to further evaluate telomere length as a prognostic biomarker in colorectal cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svenja Pauleck
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; University of Leipzig Medical Center, Medical Faculty, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Biljana Gigic
- Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Richard M Cawthon
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Jennifer Ose
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Anita R Peoples
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Christy A Warby
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Jennifer A Sinnott
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Statistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Tengda Lin
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Juergen Boehm
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Petra Schrotz-King
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - David Shibata
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Erin M Siegel
- H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
| | | | - Adetunji T Toriola
- Department of Surgery, Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Martin Schneider
- Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alexis B Ulrich
- Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Albrecht Hoffmeister
- Medical Department II, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cornelia M Ulrich
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Sheetal Hardikar
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
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