Abstract
Telomeres play a critical role in chromosome stability. Telomere length (TL) shortening is a risk factor for cancers. Measuring TL in surrogate tissues that can be easily collected may provide a potential tool for early detection of cancers. A number of studies on surrogate tissue TL and cancer risks have been conducted and results are inconsistent, including positive, negative, or null associations. In this article, we reviewed the published data on surrogate tissue TL in relation to cancer risks, discussed the possible reasons for the differences in the results and future directions and challenges for this line of research.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 130-135 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Cancer Letters |
Volume | 319 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 28 2012 |
Funding
Our work is supported by Director’s Fund (10025921) of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.
Keywords
- Cancer risk
- Surrogate tissue DNA
- Telomere length
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research