Cancer: The Phenoptosis Concept

In particular: a) species which show no aging (“animals with negligible senescence”) show the same telomerase activity at any age and have no cancer problem, as demonstrated by their constant mortality rate at any age; b) in our species, studied in wild conditions, the increase in age-related mortality is precedent to cancer-related deaths cases and it is impossible that defenses against cancer kill before cancer can develop; c) shortened telomeres, as a result of telomerase inactivity, cause dysfunctional telomere-induced instability and so the likelihood of cancer increases; d) in normal mice, telomerase expression delays aging but does not increase cancer risk.

Telomerase activation is documented in many cases of cancer, but this is a consequence of the malignant proliferative mechanisms and not a cause of them. However, the persistence of concepts derived from the old paradigm of aging as non-adaptive phenomenon maintains the fear of increased oncogenic risk by telomerase activation. On the contrary, for the new paradigm that defines aging as a type of phenoptosis, this fear appears unmotivated from a theoretical point of view and empirical data contrasting it are accepted without hesitation. Therefore, the controlled activation of the enzyme telomerase appears the main way to increase longevity, even to the point of indefinite longevity, i.e. mortality only by reasons other than aging.

A specific feasible project to examine this has been proposed. In this project, intermediate steps of great importance, both for the project in general and in themselves, refer to the control of two diseases, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and age-related retina macular degeneration (ARMD), which are in fact two characteristics of the aging pr...

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...escence. ...”. All this suggests that the control of diseases such as AD and ARMD is possible with methods based on the modulated activation of the enzyme telomerase.

CONCLUSION

Apart from the huge importance of the control of these diseases that alter the brain function or the vision of a growing number of people, these methods would pave the way for a general control of the telomere-telomerase system with the pursuit of the complete taming of aging according to the program already proposed elsewhere. However, it is absolutely necessary to distinguish between: A) the control of aging, B) the effects of improved prevention and treatment of the diseases caused by unhealthy lifestyles. Often, the improvements in life expectancy resulting from B, are presented as progress in the control of aging but this interpretation is misleading and should be avoided.