As I look back on my past experiences in life, I draw the pensive and extract a memory. This memory was a pivotal moment in my life. In 2011, my Mother, Beth Kennedy, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. Although through the grace of G-d, my mother’s will to live, and the team of doctors and nurses, she lived to tell the tale, she was diagnosed with a tumor on the base of her spine, entangled in nerves. The cancer came back as ovarian cancer, something she was diagnosed with 10 years earlier when I was just 11 years old. Although I didn’t understand the magnitude of it back then, I certainly understood it in the present moment. The pain was so extreme, my Mom spent roughly 6 months in the hospital off and on, for she would stop taking her pain medicine and the pain was so extreme I am sure even the neighbors could hear her scream. Over time, the doctors tried to de-bulk the tumor via surgery, but to no avail it grew back. Eventually, she went through aggressive chemotherapy and radiation for 6-8 weeks, and were able to kill the tumor and she has been cancer free ever since. During that time, I became obsessed with finding a cure for my Mom and the millions who suffer from the disease known as cancer. In my studies, I came across the word telomere, and ran with it. I stayed up late one night watching tv and I stumbled onto a program on PBS-Nova that helped explain visually what I was reading out. Here is what I learned.
Your DNA within every cell has a cap on either end of it to help make sure that genetic makeup of the cell does not unravel and subsequently be permanently damaged. Unfortunately, every time your cell divides this "cap" or telomere is shortened slightly. Over a lifetime the telomeres get shorter and shorter until eventually your cells no longer divide and you eventually pass away of old age amongst other effects such as: DNA damage accumulation, mitochondrial decline, epigenetic changes, and cellular senescence.
. If you think about it, these telomeres are simply a ticking-time-bomb waiting to eventually get to the end and you pass away, and this limit of how many times they divide is known as the Hayflick limit. Each type of cell in the human body is extraordinarily complex. Because of this complexity, researchers must perform extensive genetic sequencing to understand how telomeres behave in different cancers.
. We are fortunate enough to have the best and the brightest working on such a thing which is complimented by some of the fastest computers known to man.
So how does this relate to cancer and aging? In 90% of cancer cells, there is an enzyme that counteracts the shortening of the telomeres known as telomerase. This enzyme allows cancer cells to divide and multiply at an alarming and frankly quite frightening rate as you could see in my mom's situation. If we are able to dive deep into this research and know the genetic sequencing background of each type of cancer we can manipulate this enzyme for good, and quite possibly get rid of this horrible disease and effectively increase quality and quantity of life for mankind.
Researchers are exploring several strategies, for example, telomerase inhibitors which are drugs that block the enzyme. One such drug is Imetelstat which binds to telomerase RNA and prevents it from extending telomeres. It is being tested for certain leukemias and blood cancers. Another medical technique is telomerase cancer vaccines. Some treatments try to train the immune system to recognize telomerase in cancer cells and destroy them. Scientists are experimenting with viruses that activate toxic genes only in telomerase-positive cells meaning only cancer cells are targeted. The challenges that researchers and doctors face is this: Targeting telomerase isn’t simple because: Some healthy cells also need telomerase (stem cells, immune cells). Cancer cells might switch to another telomere maintenance strategy called Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres(ALT), so treatments must be very precise.
As we close out the story on Telomeres, Cancer, and Aging I think about the philosophical questions that emerge in the forefront of my mind. For example, does understanding telomeres and telomerase provide us the keys to living indefinitely? What will drug companies do with such medicines for America is a for-profit medical system? Will we finally beat cancer in the coming decades with understanding cancer and telomerase? These burning questions remain to be answered, yet we stand during a wonderful time in human history.
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