Cancer and aging--pathology

The results of research in the areas of cytogenetics, molecular biology and cancer epidemiology have recently come together to provide insights into possible mechanisms whereby the aging process may be related to without being directly responsible for carcinogenesis. While the mechanism(s) of age-associated neoplasia have not been determined, current evidence suggests that: (1) Cancer does not appear to be the inevitable consequence of aging, that is a preprogrammed genetic time bomb ticking away just waiting to go off. (2) Cancer is an age-related disease that may arise in a hereditary form--usually in children, and in a sporadic form--usually in adults. (3) Chromosomal abnormalities associated with certain forms of cancer tend to be tumor specific and appear to be related to the activities of oncogenes. Age-related factors may mediate or modulate tumor production and progression, possibly through the conversion of proto-oncogenes to oncogenes.