Balancing Between Aging and Cancer: Molecular Genetics Meets Traditional Chinese Medicine

The biological consequences of cellular senescence and immortalization in aging and cancer are in conflict. Organisms have developed common cellular signaling pathways and surveillance mechanisms to control the processing of aging against tumorigenesis. The imbalance of any signals involved in this process may result in either premature aging or tumorigenesis and reduce the life span of the organism. In contrast, the balance between aging and tumorigenesis at a higher level (homeostatic-balance) may benefit the organism with tumor-free longevity. The focus of this perspective is to review the literature on the balance between "Yin" and "Yang" in traditional Chinese medicine. Modern cellular and molecular techniques now permit a more robust system to screen herbs in traditional Chinese medicine for their activity in balancing aging and tumorigenesis. The understanding of the crosstalk between aging and tumorigenesis and new perspectives on the application of Chinese medicine might shed light on anti-aging and tumor-free strategies. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2581-2586, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.