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Rezaeian AH, Wei W. Molecular signaling and clinical implications in the human aging-cancer cycle. Semin Cancer Biol 2024; 106-107:28-42. [PMID: 39197809 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2024.08.003] [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: 07/17/2024] [Revised: 08/07/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024]
Abstract
It is well documented that aging is associated with cancer, and likewise, cancer survivors display accelerated aging. As the number of aging individuals and cancer survivors continues to grow, it raises additional concerns across society. Therefore, unraveling the molecular mechanisms of aging in tissues is essential to developing effective therapies to fight the aging and cancer diseases in cancer survivors and cancer patients. Indeed, cellular senescence is a critical response, or a natural barrier to suppress the transition of normal cells into cancer cells, however, hypoxia which is physiologically required to maintain the stem cell niche, is increased by aging and inhibits senescence in tissues. Interestingly, oxygen restriction or hypoxia increases longevity and slows the aging process in humans, but hypoxia can also drive angiogenesis to facilitate cancer progression. In addition, cancer treatment is considered as one of the major reasons that drive cellular senescence, subsequently followed by accelerated aging. Several clinical trials have recently evaluated inhibitors to eliminate senescent cells. However, some mechanisms of aging typically can also retard cancer cell growth and progression, which might require careful strategy for better clinical outcomes. Here we describe the molecular regulation of aging and cancer in crosstalk with DNA damage and hypoxia signaling pathways in cancer patients and cancer survivors. We also update several therapeutic strategies that might be critical in reversing the cancer treatment-associated aging process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdol-Hossein Rezaeian
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, United States.
| | - Wenyi Wei
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, United States.
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2
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Bai H, Liu X, Lin M, Meng Y, Tang R, Guo Y, Li N, Clarke MF, Cai S. Progressive senescence programs induce intrinsic vulnerability to aging-related female breast cancer. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5154. [PMID: 38886378 PMCID: PMC11183265 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49106-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer incidence escalates exponentially with advancing age; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we build a chronological molecular clock at single-cell transcription level with a mammary stem cell-enriched population to depict physiological aging dynamics in female mice. We find that the mammary aging process is asynchronous and progressive, initiated by an early senescence program, succeeded by an entropic late senescence program with elevated cancer associated pathways, vulnerable to cancer predisposition. The transition towards senescence program is governed by a stem cell factor Bcl11b, loss of which accelerates mammary ageing with enhanced DMBA-induced tumor formation. We have identified a drug TPCA-1 that can rejuvenate mammary cells and significantly reduce aging-related cancer incidence. Our findings establish a molecular portrait of progressive mammary cell aging and elucidate the transcriptional regulatory network bridging mammary aging and cancer predisposition, which has potential implications for the management of cancer prevalence in the aged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiru Bai
- Westlake Disease Modeling lab, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiaoqin Liu
- Westlake Disease Modeling lab, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Meizhen Lin
- Westlake Disease Modeling lab, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yuan Meng
- Westlake Disease Modeling lab, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ruolan Tang
- Westlake Disease Modeling lab, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yajing Guo
- Westlake Disease Modeling lab, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Nan Li
- Westlake University High-Performance Computing Center, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Michael F Clarke
- Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Shang Cai
- Westlake Disease Modeling lab, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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Biro PA, Thomas F, Ujvari B, Beckmann C. A novel perspective suggesting high sustained energy expenditure may be net protective against cancer. Evol Med Public Health 2022; 10:170-176. [PMID: 35498120 PMCID: PMC9040660 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoac012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Energy expenditure (EE) is generally viewed as tumorigenic, due to production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can damage cells and DNA. On this basis, individuals within a species that sustain high EE should be more likely to develop cancer. Here, we argue the opposite, that high EE may be net protective effect against cancer, despite high ROS production. This is possible because individuals that sustain high EE have a greater energetic capacity (=greater energy acquisition, expenditure and ability to up-regulate output), and can therefore allocate energy to multiple cancer-fighting mechanisms with minimal energetic trade-offs. Our review finds that individuals sustaining high EE have greater antioxidant production, lower oxidative stress, greater immune function and lower cancer incidence. Our hypothesis and literature review suggest that EE may indeed be net protective against cancer, and that individual variation in energetic capacity may be a key mechanism to understand the highly individual nature of cancer risk in contemporary human populations and laboratory animals.
Lay summary The process of expending energy generates reactive oxygen species that can lead to oxidative stress, cell and DNA damage, and the accumulation of this damage is thought to be a major contributor to many ageing related diseases that include cancer. Here, we challenge this view, proposing how and why high energy expenditure (EE) may actually be net protective against cancer, and provide literature support for our hypothesis. We find individuals with high sustained EE have greater energetic capacity and thus can invest more in repair to counter oxidative stress, and more in immune function, both of which reduce cancer risk. Our hypothesis provides a novel mechanism to understand the highly individual nature of cancer, why taller individuals are more at risk, why physically active individuals have lower cancer risk, and why regular exercise can reduce cancer risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter A Biro
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Science, Deakin University, Geelong 3216, Australia
- Corresponding author. Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Science, Deakin University, Geelong 3216, Australia. Tel: +61 434 8569 921; E-mail:
| | - Frédéric Thomas
- CREEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290, 911 Avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Beata Ujvari
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Science, Deakin University, Geelong 3216, Australia
| | - Christa Beckmann
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Science, Deakin University, Geelong 3216, Australia
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
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Two-Step Senescence-Focused Cancer Therapies. Trends Cell Biol 2018; 28:723-737. [PMID: 29776716 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2018.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Revised: 04/15/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Damaged cells at risk of neoplastic transformation can be neutralized by apoptosis or engagement of the senescence program, which induces permanent cell-cycle arrest and a bioactive secretome that is implicated in tumor immunosurveillance. While from an evolutionary perspective senescence is beneficial in that it protects against malignancies, the accumulation of senescent cells in tissues and organs with aging and at sites of various pathologies is largely detrimental. Because induction of senescence in cancer cells is emerging as a therapeutic concept, it will be important to consider these detrimental effects, including tumor-promoting properties that may drive the formation of secondary tumors or cancer relapse. In this review we discuss the complex relationship between senescence and cancer, and highlight important considerations for therapeutics.
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Pedersen JK, Engholm G, Skytthe A, Christensen K. Cancer and aging: Epidemiology and methodological challenges. Acta Oncol 2016; 55 Suppl 1:7-12. [PMID: 26825001 DOI: 10.3109/0284186x.2015.1114670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Epidemiological cancer data shed light on key questions within basic science, clinical medicine and public health. For decades, Denmark has had linkable health registers that contain individual level data on the entire population with virtually complete follow-up. This has enabled high quality studies of cancer epidemiology and minimized the challenges often faced in many countries, such as uncertain identification of the study base, age misreporting, and low validity of the cancer diagnoses. However, methodological challenges still remain to be addressed, especially in cancer epidemiology studies among the elderly and the oldest-old. For example, a characteristic pattern for many cancer types is that the incidence increases up to a maximum at about ages 75-90 years and is then followed by a decline or a leveling off at the oldest ages. It has been suggested that the oldest individuals may be asymptomatic, or even insusceptible to cancer. An alternative interpretation is that this pattern is an artifact due to lower diagnostic intensity among the elderly and oldest-old caused by higher levels of co-morbidities in this age group. Currently, the available cancer epidemiology data are not able to provide clear evidence for any of these hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob K Pedersen
- a The Danish Aging Research Center, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography , Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark
| | - Gerda Engholm
- b Department of Documentation & Quality , Danish Cancer Society , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Axel Skytthe
- a The Danish Aging Research Center, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography , Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark
| | - Kaare Christensen
- a The Danish Aging Research Center, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography , Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark
- c Department of Clinical Genetics , Odense University Hospital , Odense , Denmark
- d Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology , Odense University Hospital , Odense , Denmark
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Pedersen JK, Skytthe A, McGue M, Honig LS, Franceschi C, Kirkwood TBL, Passarino G, Slagboom PE, Vaupel JW, Christensen K. Low tobacco-related cancer incidence in offspring of long-lived siblings: a comparison with Danish national cancer registry data. Ann Epidemiol 2015; 25:569-574.e3. [PMID: 25890797 PMCID: PMC4466018 DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2015.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2014] [Revised: 02/08/2015] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Familial clustering of longevity is well documented and includes both genetic and other familial factors, but the specific underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. We examined whether low incidence of specific cancers is a mechanism for familial clustering of longevity. METHODS The study population of individuals from longevity-enriched families consisted of 3267 offspring from 610 Danish long-lived families defined by two siblings attaining an age of 90 years or more. The offspring of the long-lived siblings were followed from 1968 to 2009. Using high-quality registry data, observed numbers of cancers were compared with expected numbers based on gender-, calendar period-, and age-specific incidence rates in the general population. RESULTS During the 41-year-follow-up period, a total of 423 cancers occurred in 397 individuals. The standardized incidence ratios (95% confidence interval) for offspring of long-lived individuals were 0.78 (0.70-0.86) for overall cancer; 0.66 (0.56-0.77) for tobacco-related cancer; 0.34 (0.22-0.51) for lung cancer; 0.88 (0.71-1.10) for breast cancer; 0.91 (0.62-1.34) for colon cancer. CONCLUSIONS The low incidence of tobacco-related cancers in long-lived families compared with non-tobacco-related cancers suggests that health behavior plays a central role in lower early cancer incidence in offspring of long-lived siblings in Denmark.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob K Pedersen
- The Danish Aging Research Center, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
| | - Axel Skytthe
- The Danish Aging Research Center, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Matt McGue
- The Danish Aging Research Center, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Lawrence S Honig
- Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY; Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY
| | - Claudio Franceschi
- DIMES-Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; CIG-Interdepartmental Centre "L. Galvani" for Integrated Studies of Bioinformatics, Biophysics and Biocomplexity, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; IRCSS-Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; ISOF-CNR-Institute of Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity, Bologna, Italy; IGM-CNR-Institute of Molecular Genetics, Unit of Bologna IOR, Bologna, Italy
| | - Thomas B L Kirkwood
- Institute for Ageing and Health, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
| | - Giuseppe Passarino
- Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | - P Eline Slagboom
- Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands; Netherlands Consortium for Healthy Ageing, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - James W Vaupel
- MPIDR-Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
| | - Kaare Christensen
- The Danish Aging Research Center, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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White MC, Holman DM, Boehm JE, Peipins LA, Grossman M, Henley SJ. Age and cancer risk: a potentially modifiable relationship. Am J Prev Med 2014; 46:S7-15. [PMID: 24512933 PMCID: PMC4544764 DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.10.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 435] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2013] [Revised: 10/29/2013] [Accepted: 10/29/2013] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
This article challenges the idea that cancer cannot be prevented among older adults by examining different aspects of the relationship between age and cancer. Although the sequential patterns of aging cannot be changed, several age-related factors that contribute to disease risk can be. For most adults, age is coincidentally associated with preventable chronic conditions, avoidable exposures, and modifiable risk behaviors that are causally associated with cancer. Midlife is a period of life when the prevalence of multiple cancer risk factors is high and incidence rates begin to increase for many types of cancer. However, current evidence suggests that for most adults, cancer does not have to be an inevitable consequence of growing older. Interventions that support healthy environments, help people manage chronic conditions, and promote healthy behaviors may help people make a healthier transition from midlife to older age and reduce the likelihood of developing cancer. Because the number of adults reaching older ages is increasing rapidly, the number of new cancer cases will also increase if current incidence rates remain unchanged. Thus, the need to translate the available research into practice to promote cancer prevention, especially for adults at midlife, has never been greater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary C White
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia.
| | - Dawn M Holman
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Jennifer E Boehm
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Lucy A Peipins
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Melissa Grossman
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - S Jane Henley
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
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Abstract
The ageing of populations worldwide is leading to an unprecedented increase in cancer cases and fatalities. Understanding the links between cancer and ageing is therefore more important than ever. How the interplay of ageing-associated changes affects cancer initiation and progression is complex, however, and some ageing processes probably foster cancer development whereas others hinder it, possibly in a tissue-specific manner. In the emerging age of cancer, how can our growing understanding of the biology of ageing inform cancer biology?
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Crimmins EM, Finch CE. The genetics of age-related health outcomes. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2012; 67:467-9. [PMID: 22454370 PMCID: PMC3326245 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/gls101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2012] [Accepted: 02/25/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
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