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Review
. 2023 Jan 3;35(1):12-35.
doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.11.001.

Meta-hallmarks of aging and cancer

Carlos López-Otín  1 , Federico Pietrocola  2 , David Roiz-Valle  3 , Lorenzo Galluzzi  4 , Guido Kroemer  5
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Meta-hallmarks of aging and cancer

Carlos López-Otín et al. Cell Metab. .
Free article

Abstract

Both aging and cancer are characterized by a series of partially overlapping "hallmarks" that we subject here to a meta-analysis. Several hallmarks of aging (i.e., genomic instability, epigenetic alterations, chronic inflammation, and dysbiosis) are very similar to specific cancer hallmarks and hence constitute common "meta-hallmarks," while other features of aging (i.e., telomere attrition and stem cell exhaustion) act likely to suppress oncogenesis and hence can be viewed as preponderantly "antagonistic hallmarks." Disabled macroautophagy and cellular senescence are two hallmarks of aging that exert context-dependent oncosuppressive and pro-tumorigenic effects. Similarly, the equivalence or antagonism between aging-associated deregulated nutrient-sensing and cancer-relevant alterations of cellular metabolism is complex. The agonistic and antagonistic relationship between the processes that drive aging and cancer has bearings for the age-related increase and oldest age-related decrease of cancer morbidity and mortality, as well as for the therapeutic management of malignant disease in the elderly.

Keywords: aging; cancer; carcinogenesis; metabolism; oncogenesis; tumor progression.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests L.G. is/has been holding research contracts with Lytix BioPharma, Promontory, and Onxeo; has received consulting/advisory honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, OmniSEQ, Onxeo, the Longevity Labs, Imvax, Inzen, Sotio, Promontory, Noxopharm, EduCom, and the Luke Heller TECPR2 Foundation; and holds Promontory stock options. G.K. has been holding research contracts with Daiichi Sankyo, Eleor, Kaleido, Lytix Pharma, PharmaMar, Osasuna Therapeutics, Samsara Therapeutics, Sanofi, Sotio, Tollys, Vascage, and Vasculox/Tioma. G.K. has been consulting for Reithera. G.K. is on the Board of Directors of the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation France. G.K. is a scientific co-founder of everImmune, Osasuna Therapeutics, Samsara Therapeutics, and Therafast Bio. None of the funders had any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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