Carcinogenesis, genetic instability and genomic entropy: insight derived from malignant brain tumor age specific mortality rate dynamics.
Aging-related carcinogenesis has been attributed to inherent genetic instability, which manifests in a multistep fashion by activation of oncogenes and inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Malignant brain tumor cells display multiple-characteristic acquired genetic abnormalities in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Age-specific malignant brain tumor mortality rates in the United States from 1962 to 1988 were interpreted by longitudinal Gompertzian analysis. Utilizing a thermodynamic perspective of the Strehler-Mildvan modification of the Gompertz relationship between mortality and aging, a measure of the rate of increase in informational entropy for those genetic factors involved in the carcinogenesis of malignant brain tumor was determined. Aging-related carcinogenesis can be viewed as a natural consequence of increasing informational entropy of the genome.
Riggs
J E
JE
Department of Neurology, Medicine and Community Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown 26506.
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D009857:Oncogenes / Q000235:genetics*