Strong association between long and heterogeneous telomere length in blood lymphocytes and bladder cancer risk in Egyptian

Abstract

Although it is widely recognized that telomere dysfunction plays an important role in cancer, the relationship between telomere function and bladder cancer risk is not well defined. In a case-control study of bladder cancer in Egypt, we examined relationships between two telomere features and bladder cancer risk. Telomere fluorescent in situ hybridization was used to measure telomere features using short-term cultured blood lymphocytes. Logistic regression was used to estimate the strength of association between telomere features and the risk of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. High telomere length variation (TLV) across all chromosomal ends was significantly associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer [adjusted odds ratios (OR) = 2.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.48-3.35], as was long average telomere length (OR = 3.19, 95% CI = 2.07, 4.91). Further, TLV and average telomere length jointly affected bladder cancer risk: when comparing individuals with long telomere length and high TLV to those with short telomere length and low TLV, the adjusted OR was 14.68 (95% CI: 6.74-31.98). These associations were stronger among individuals who are 60 years of age or younger. In summary, long and heterogeneous telomere length in blood lymphocytes was strongly associated with an increased bladder cancer risk in Egyptian and the association was modulated by age.

Short telomeres are associated with inferior outcome, genomic complexity, and clonal evolution in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

“…Telomere dysfunction is described to be associated with tumorigenesis across various cancers [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] and short telomeres may favor genomic instability, checkpoint deregulation, and activation of telomerase, leading to malignant transformation [12]. Different treatment strategies exploit the crucial role of telomere dysfunction, and targeting telomerase dependence of cancers shows promising impact in clinical trials [20].…”

Association of peripheral leukocyte telomere length and its variation with pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population

“…So far, only three studies have investigated circulating LTL and risk of pancreatic cancer [12, 28, 29], while none of them were conducted in Asians. Additionally, recent studies also showed that telomere length variation (TLV) across all chromosomal ends, which could increase chromosome instability and poor clinical outcome, contributed to the risk of bladder cancer [30]. To further clarify the association between LTL, TLV and pancreatic cancer and CRC development, we performed this nested case-control study to examine the degree of association between LTL, TLV and risk of pancreatic cancer and CRC.…”

Tolomeres and Cancer

“…Telomere length deformities are universal in preinvasive stages of Carcinogenesis in human epithelial cells. Certainly, telomere shortening occurs mostly in early stage of bladder, colon, cervix, esophageal and oral cavity cancer [75,76]. This phenomenon is also observed in prostate cancer [77][78][79].…”