Surrogate tissue telomere length and cancer risk: Shorter or Longer?

Lifang Hou*, Xiao Zhang, Andrew J. Gawron, Jie Liu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

109 Scopus citations

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 languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)130-135
Number of pages6
JournalCancer Letters
Volume319
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 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

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