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Exercise, Telomeres, and Cancer: "The Exercise-Telomere Hypothesis".

  • Nomikos NN Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
  • Nikolaidis PT Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Nikaia, Greece.
  • Sousa CV Graduate Program in Physical Education, Catholic University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil.
  • Papalois AE Experimental Research Center, ELPEN Pharmaceuticals, Attica, Greece.
  • Rosemann T Institute of Primary Care, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
  • Knechtle B Institute of Primary Care, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
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  • 2019-01-09
Published in:
  • Frontiers in physiology. - 2018
aging
cancer
exercise
medicine
telomere
well-being
English Telomeres are genomic complex at the end of chromosomes that protects the DNA and telomere length (TL) is related to several age-related diseases, lifespan, and cancer. On the other hand, cancer is a multifactorial disease that is responsible for reduce the quality of life and kills millions of people every year. Both, shorter TL and cancer are related and could be treated or prevented depending of the lifestyle. In this review we discuss the possible role of exercise in the relationship between shorter telomeres, telomerase activity, and cancer. In summary, there is evidence that exercise leads to less telomere attrition and exercise also may diminish the risk of cancer, these two outcomes are possible intermediated by a reduction in oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation. Although, there is evidence that shorter TL are associated with cancer, the possible mechanisms that one may lead to the other remains to be clarified. We assume that humans under cancer treatment may suffer a great decrease in quality of life, which may increase sedentary behavior and lead to increased telomere attrition. And those humans with already shorter TL likely lived under a poor lifestyle and might have an increased risk to have cancer.
Language
  • English
Open access status
gold
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Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/174734
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