MADRID 9 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A new study led by researchers at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA Health (United States) has revealed that common treatments for breast cancer, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, can accelerate the biological aging process in women. breast cancer survivors.
The results, 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) increased significantly 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,” emphasizes the study’s senior author, Judith Carroll, associate professor of psychiatry and sciences. biobehavioral scientists at UCLA, holder of the George F. Solomon Chair in Psychobiology and researcher at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA Health.
“While we expected to see an increase in gene expression linked to biological aging in women who received chemotherapy, we were surprised to find similar changes in those who only underwent radiotherapy or surgery,” he adds.
Advances in cancer therapies have greatly improved survival rates: there are currently an estimated 4 million breast cancer survivors in the US, and there are expected to be more than 6 million by 2040. However, the Breast cancer is linked to accelerated aging, which affects physical abilities, independence and life expectancy.
Biological aging processes, which drive 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 conditions, making it crucial to understand the specific pathways involved to better target and control them.
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 again after treatment to see how their aging biomarkers 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 so-called “zombie cells” accumulate 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 DNA damage. Although chemotherapy had a slightly different pattern, similar to what others have shown, they also noticed changes in women who did not receive chemotherapy.
“The results suggest that women receiving treatment for breast cancer have a gene expression pattern that indicates increased DNA damage and inflammation, which could be an important target for recovering from cancer and having a better quality of life.” in survival,” summarizes the study’s lead author, Julienne Bower, professor of psychology at UCLA College and of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“We are just beginning 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,” adds Carroll. “Our goal is to find ways to improve survival, not only in terms of years lived, but also in quality of life and overall health,” he adds.
The team is now exploring a new biomarker that measures a woman’s biological age and the rate at which she ages. This could help determine whether signs of aging detected during cancer treatment have a long-term effect on biological age. The team plans to investigate the factors that may influence this, focusing on protective behaviors such as exercise, stress management and healthy sleep patterns.