EP 1,016B - Cancer and Its Treatment May Accelerate the Aging Process

A new study examines the effects of cancer and its treatment on the aging process. Investigators found that the expression of a gene associated with aging is higher in young patients with cancer after treatment with chemotherapy and in young cancer survivors who are frail. The findings were published in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Using the expression of the gene that codes for p16INK4a as a marker of age, Andrew Smitherman, MD, MSc, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and his colleagues examined immune cells circulating in the blood of young adult survivors of childhood cancers and of children and adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer.

Dr. Smitherman joins Dr. Roizen today to talk about this research and what it means to young cancer patients.

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Bonus
How Your Diet Affects Your Risk for Cancer
EP 1,016B - Cancer and Its Treatment May Accelerate the Aging Process
Featuring:
Andrew Smitherman, MD, MSc
Andrew Smitherman, MD, MSc, is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and UNC School of Medicine, and medical director of the UNC Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Program. A physician-scientist, his work is focused on improving cancer care for adolescents and young adults as well as survivors of childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer. His research has examined the patterns of health care usage among survivors to characterize emerging chronic treatment-related morbidities. Building on this experience, he is currently studying the use of biomarkers of aging for the early identification of survivors at increased risk for treatment-related morbidities and early disability as well as factors associated with clinical trial enrollment among AYAs.
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