BACKGROUND: Alterations in telomere maintenance mechanisms leading to short telomeres underlie different genetic disorders of ageing and cancer predisposition syndromes. It is known that short telomeres and subsequent genomic instability contribute to malignant transformation, and it is therefore likely that people with shorter telomeres are at higher risk for different types of cancer. Recently, the authors demonstrated that the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are modifiers of telomere length (TL) in familial breast cancer. The present study analysed TL in peripheral blood leucocytes of hereditary and sporadic ovarian cancer cases, as well as in female controls, to evaluate whether TL contributes to ovarian cancer risk. METHODS: TL was measured by quantitative PCR in 178 sporadic and 168 hereditary ovarian cases (46 BRCA1, 12 BRCA2, and 110 BRCAX) and compared to TL in 267 controls. RESULTS: Both sporadic and hereditary cases showed significantly shorter age adjusted TLs than controls. Unconditional logistic regression analysis revealed an association between TL and ovarian cancer risk with a significant interaction with age (p<0.001). Risk was higher in younger women and progressively decreased with age, with the highest OR observed in women under 30 years of age (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.34 to 1.81; p=1.0×10(-18)). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that TL could be a risk factor for early onset ovarian cancer.
BACKGROUND: Alterations in telomere maintenance mechanisms leading to short telomeres underlie different genetic disorders of ageing and cancer predisposition syndromes. It is known that short telomeres and subsequent genomic instability contribute to malignant transformation, and it is therefore likely that people with shorter telomeres are at higher risk for different types of cancer. Recently, the authors demonstrated that the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are modifiers of telomere length (TL) in familial breast cancer. The present study analysed TL in peripheral blood leucocytes of hereditary and sporadic ovarian cancer cases, as well as in female controls, to evaluate whether TL contributes to ovarian cancer risk. METHODS: TL was measured by quantitative PCR in 178 sporadic and 168 hereditary ovarian cases (46 BRCA1, 12 BRCA2, and 110 BRCAX) and compared to TL in 267 controls. RESULTS: Both sporadic and hereditary cases showed significantly shorter age adjusted TLs than controls. Unconditional logistic regression analysis revealed an association between TL and ovarian cancer risk with a significant interaction with age (p<0.001). Risk was higher in younger women and progressively decreased with age, with the highest OR observed in women under 30 years of age (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.34 to 1.81; p=1.0×10(-18)). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that TL could be a risk factor for early onset ovarian cancer.
Authors: Julie M Cunningham; Ruth A Johnson; Kristin Litzelman; Halcyon G Skinner; Songwon Seo; Corinne D Engelman; Russell J Vanderboom; Grace W Kimmel; Ronald E Gangnon; Douglas L Riegert-Johnson; John A Baron; John D Potter; Robert Haile; Daniel D Buchanan; Mark A Jenkins; David N Rider; Stephen N Thibodeau; Gloria M Petersen; Lisa A Boardman Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 2013-09-09 Impact factor: 4.254
Authors: Samuel O Antwi; William R Bamlet; Kari G Rabe; Richard M Cawthon; Isoken Umudi; Brooke R Druliner; Hugues Sicotte; Ann L Oberg; Aminah Jatoi; Lisa A Boardman; Gloria M Petersen Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 2020-04-20 Impact factor: 4.254
Authors: Meng Yang; Jennifer Prescott; Elizabeth M Poole; Megan S Rice; Laura D Kubzansky; Annika Idahl; Eva Lundin; Immaculata De Vivo; Shelley S Tworoger Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 2017-02-16 Impact factor: 4.254
Authors: Elizabeth M Poole; Laura D Kubzansky; Anil K Sood; Olivia I Okereke; Shelley S Tworoger Journal: Cancer Causes Control Date: 2016-03-29 Impact factor: 2.506
Authors: Hiromi Tanaka; Elizabeth A Phipps; Ting Wei; Xi Wu; Chirayu Goswami; Yunlong Liu; George W Sledge; Lida Mina; Brittney-Shea Herbert Journal: Mol Carcinog Date: 2018-01-05 Impact factor: 4.784