New test predicts cancer 13 years before it develops

Sarah Knapton writes at The Telegraph that there is a new test that can predict cancer up to 13 years before it develops.

People who develop cancer have shorter telomeres, the caps at the end of chromosomes which protect the DNA.

Telomeres sit at the end of chromosomes like the caps on shoelaces to prevent DNA from fraying.

Initially, scientists discovered telomeres aged much faster, indicated by a more rapid loss of length, in individuals who were developing but not yet diagnosed with cancer.

Telomeres in all the people who went on to develop cancer looked as much as 15 years older than those of people who were not developing the disease.

But then scientists found the accelerated aging process stopped three to four years before the cancer diagnosis.

Telomeres shorten every time a cell divides. The older a person is, the more times each cell has divided, and the shorter their telomeres.

Because cancer cells divide and grow rapidly, scientists would expect the cell would get so short it would self-destruct. But that's not what happens, scientists discovered.

“We found cancer has hijacked the telomere shortening in order to flourish in the body,” added Dr Hou.

The team is hoping that if it can identify how cancer hijacks the cell, then treatments could be developed to cause cancer cells to self-destruct without harming healthy cells.

Read more here.

Thanks to Instapundit