Why We Age: The Cancer/Aging Paradox

While aging is accompanied by a decrease in the cells’ ability to regenerate and new cells to form (a process known as cellular senescence), cancer is accompanied by uncontrolled cell growth and the failure of cells to die off. Yet cancer is more common in older people. Why this paradox in the way cells behave as we age?

Sixty percent of all cancer diagnoses and 70 percent of cancer mortalities occur in people over age 65. Scientists are unlocking the clues to why aging cells are susceptible to cancer and determining ways to genetically influence signals that cause cells to age or turn cancerous.

This understanding has implications for how scientists measure the pace of aging, and provides a framework to study how to slow the aging process without increasing the frequency of cancer.

On November 9, 2006, the American Federation for Aging Research hosted a luncheon discussion on the topic featuring:

• Norman E. Sharpless, MD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Medicine and Genetics, The Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine; and
• Titia de Lange, PhD, Head, Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, Leon Hess Professor, The Rockefeller University

As part of AFAR’s Why We Age scientists-media luncheon series, we explore various topics related to the biology of aging featuring scientists from some of the leading academic institutions in the nation.

For more information about this research, please visit our consumer web site Infoaging (www.infoaging.org). An interview with Dr. Sharpless can be found at http://websites.afar.org/site/PageServer?pagename=IA_expert

Funding for the media luncheon series was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Inc.

Dr. Norman Sharpless

Dr. Titia de Lange