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Are aging biomarkers clinically relevant in oncogeriatrics?
Claire Falandry1, Eric Gilson, K Lenhard Rudolph
1Geriatrics Unit, Lyon Sud University Hospital, Pierre-Benite, France. Claire.Falandry@chu-lyon.fr
Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology
|September 6, 2012
Summary
Aging blood cells ("immunoaging") result from stem cell senescence. This understanding impacts cancer care by explaining treatment toxicities and secondary cancer risks, highlighting future biomarker relevance.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Hematology
- Oncology
Background:
- Immunosenescence and inflammaging describe age-related blood changes, termed "immunoaging".
- These changes can be modeled by accelerating telomere shortening or DNA damage response in animal models.
- Immunoaging is linked to replicative senescence of hematopoietic stem cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the impact of immunoaging on oncogeriatrics.
- To highlight the connection between hematopoietic stem cells and cancer stem cells.
- To underscore the clinical relevance of aging biomarkers in cancer patients.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on immunosenescence and its link to cancer.
- Analysis of animal models simulating aspects of immunoaging.
- Discussion of potential aging biomarkers such as telomere length and DNA-damage markers.
Main Results:
- Immunoaging is associated with cancer immunotolerance and increased cancer incidence with age.
- Immunoaging contributes to hematological toxicities during cancer treatment in the elderly.
- Immunoaging may favor secondary cancers, particularly hemopathies.
Conclusions:
- Understanding immunoaging is crucial for future oncogeriatric practice.
- Aging biomarkers, including telomere length and DNA-damage markers, are likely to become clinically significant.
- Further research into immunoaging could improve cancer patient outcomes and treatment strategies.
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