부산대학교 도서관

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. Key words: telomere length, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, melanoma of the skin, colorectal cancer, liver cancer
Contents 1. Introduction 2. Cancer burden 3. Modulation of human TERT in cance 4. Respiratory system 5. Laryngeal cancer 6. Urinary/renal system 7. Hematogenous malignancies 8. Integumentary system 9. Endocrine [...]