Some common breast cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, can accelerate the biological aging process in breast cancer survivors.
The findings published in the ‘Journal of the National Cancer Institute‘, show that markers of cellular aging (such as DNA damage response, cellular senescence and inflammatory pathways) were significantly increased in all breast cancer survivors, regardless of the type of treatment received. This suggests that the impact of breast cancer treatments on the body is broader than previously believed.
“For the first time, we are showing that signals we once thought were driven by chemotherapy are also present in women undergoing radiation therapy and surgery,” said study lead author Judith Carroll, a professor at UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (USA.).
The researchers assumed greater genetic expression linked to biological aging in women who received chemotherapy; However, “we were surprised to find similar changes in those who only had radiation or surgery.”
Advances in cancer treatments have greatly improved survival rates; However, breast cancer is linked to accelerated aging, which affects physical abilities, independence, and life expectancy.
Biological aging processes, which cause conditions such as fatigue, cognitive decline, frailty and cardiovascular disease, appear to be an important factor. Evidence suggests that cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, may increase the risk of early onset of these aging-related conditionsso it is essential to understand the specific pathways involved to better address and control them.
Biological markers
To examine how aging-related gene expression changes over time in women diagnosed with breast cancer, the team conducted a two-year longitudinal study that followed women undergoing breast cancer treatment before receiving treatment. and subsequently after treatment to see how their biological markers of aging evolved.
The team tracked gene expression in their blood cells using RNA sequencing, focusing on markers that indicate biological aging, including a process known as cellular senescence, which is when cells stop dividing but do not die. These calls’zombie cells‘ build up over time and can release harmful substances that damage nearby healthy cells, contributing to aging and inflammation.
The data were then analyzed using statistical models to help identify changes related to aging.
The team found that, regardless of the type of treatment, there was an increase in the expression of genes that track cellular processes involved in biological aging. Specifically, genes that capture cellular senescence and the inflammatory signal of these cells, indicating that their immune cells were aging faster than normal.
They also observed increases in DNA damage response genes, which are genes that are expressed when there is damage to DNA. Although chemotherapy had a slightly different pattern, similar to what others have shown, they also noticed changes in women who did not receive chemotherapy.
We have only just begun to understand the long-term consequences of cancer therapy
“The results suggest that women receiving treatment for breast cancer have a gene expression pattern that indicates greater DNA damage and greater inflammation, which could be an important goal for recovering from cancer and having better quality of life.” life in survival,” emphasizes the main author of the study, Julienne Bower.
“We have only just begun to understand the long-term consequences of cancer therapy, and these findings are a critical step in understanding the biological pathways that drive many of the post-treatment symptoms in breast cancer survivors,” Carroll said.
The objective, he adds, «is to find ways to improve survivalnot only in terms of years lived, but also in quality of life and health in general.
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