title: Surrogate tissue telomere length and cancer risk: shorter or longer?
abstract: Telomeres play a critical role in chromosome stability. Telomere length (TL) shortening is a risk factor for cancers. Measuring TL in surrogate tissues that can be easily collected may provide a potential tool for early detection of cancers. A number of studies on surrogate tissue TL and cancer risks have been conducted and results are inconsistent, including positive, negative, or null associations. In this article, we reviewed the published data on surrogate tissue TL in relation to cancer risks, discussed the possible reasons for the differences in the results and future directions and challenges for this line of research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 680 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611, United States; The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611, United States. Electronic address: l-hou@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Lifang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 680 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611, United States.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 676 N. St. Clair, Chicago, IL 60611, United States.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Gawron
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Diseases of Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Wulumuqi Road, Shanghai 200040, PR China. Electronic address: jieliu28@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013048:Specimen Handling; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis; D059506:Telomere Shortening