Context: Telomeres are essential to preserve the integrity of the genome. Critically short telomeres lead to replicative cell senescence and chromosomal instability and may thereby increase cancer risk.
Objective: To determine the association between baseline telomere length and incident cancer and cancer mortality.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Leukocyte telomere length was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 787 participants free of cancer at baseline in 1995 from the prospective, population-based Bruneck Study in Italy.
Main Outcome Measures: Incident cancer and cancer mortality over a follow-up period of 10 years (1995-2005 with a follow-up rate of 100%).
Results: A total of 92 of 787 participants (11.7%) developed cancer (incidence rate, 13.3 per 1000 person-years). Short telomere length at baseline was associated with incident cancer independently of standard cancer risk factors (multivariable hazard ratio [HR] per 1-SD decrease in log(e)-transformed telomere length, 1.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30-1.98; P < .001). Compared with participants in the longest telomere length group, the multivariable HR for incident cancer was 2.15 (95% CI, 1.12-4.14) in the middle length group and 3.11 (95% CI, 1.65-5.84) in the shortest length group (P < .001). Incidence rates were 5.1 (95% CI, 2.9-8.7) per 1000 person-years in the longest telomere length group, 14.2 (95% CI, 10.0-20.1) per 1000 person-years in the middle length group, and 22.5 (95% CI, 16.9-29.9) per 1000 person-years in the shortest length group. The association equally applied to men and women and emerged as robust under a variety of circumstances. Furthermore, short telomere length was associated with cancer mortality (multivariable HR per 1-SD decrease in log(e)-transformed telomere length, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.58-2.86; P < .001) and individual cancer subtypes with a high fatality rate.
Conclusion: In this study population, there was a statistically significant inverse relationship between telomere length and both cancer incidence and mortality.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2010.897 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Limited evidence of association between dysregulated immune marker levels and telomere length in severe mental disorders.
Acta Neuropsychiatr
January 2025
Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Objective: Accelerated ageing indexed by telomere attrition is suggested in schizophrenia spectrum- (SCZ) and bipolar disorders (BD). While inflammation may promote telomere shortening, few studies have investigated the association between telomere length (TL) and markers of immune activation and inflammation in severe mental disorders.
Methods: Leucocyte TL defined as telomere template/amount of single-copy gene template (T/S ratio), was determined in participants with SCZ ( = 301) or BD ( = 211) and a healthy control group (HC, = 378).
Deciphering the bidirectional impact of leukocyte telomere length on multiple sclerosis progression: A Mendelian randomization study.
Mult Scler Relat Disord
January 2025
Lung Transplantation Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:
Observational studies have suggested a link between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and multiple sclerosis (MS) progression, but the causal relationship remains uncertain. This study investigates the causal association between LTL and MS progression using a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. We analyzed genome-wide association summary statistics data from 472,174 individuals for LTL and 12,584 MS patients for disease progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTelomere shortening in donor cell-derived acute promyelocytic leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a case report.
Ann Hematol
January 2025
Hematology Division, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center, Komagome Hospital, 3-18-22 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8677, Japan.
Donor cell leukemia (DCL), in which malignancy evolves from donor's stem cells, is an infrequent complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) derived from donor cell is extremely rare and only four cases have been reported to date. Herein we report a case of donor cell-derived APL developing 32 months after haploidentical peripheral blood stem cell transplantation using posttransplant cyclophosphamide for myelodysplastic syndromes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune response accelerated telomere shortening during early life stage of a passerine bird, the blue tit ().
Biol Lett
January 2025
Cluster of Biomolecular Science, Division of Toxicology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Dealing with infections is a daily challenge for wild animals. Empirical data show an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during immune response. This could have consequences on telomere length, the end parts of linear chromosomes, commonly used as proxy for good health and ageing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAging and tumors: a dynamic interaction.
Discov Oncol
January 2025
Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China.
Aging is an inevitable physiological process in organisms, and the development of tumors is closely associated with cellular senescence. This article initially examines the role of cellular senescence in tumorigenesis, emphasizing the correlation between telomere length-a marker of cellular senescence-and tumor risk. Concurrently, the study explores the expression levels of senescence-associated markers, such as p16, p53, and mTOR, in the context of tumor development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!