Higher biological age associated with increased risk of breast cancer: study

Washington DC: According to a new study, the biological age, an estimate of the age of a person based on DNA, is related to the development of bad cancer. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Biological age was determined by measuring the methylation of DNA, a chemical modification of DNA as part of the normal aging process.

The study showed that every five years, the biological age of a woman was greater than her real or chronological age, ie the acceleration of her age, and his chances of developing bad cancer were 15% higher.

Scientists from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institute of Health, have hypothesized that biological age could be linked to environmental exposures. If this is the case, it could be a useful indicator of the risk of disease. They used three different measures, called epigenetic clocks, to estimate the biological age.

These clocks measure the methylation found at specific locations in the DNA. The researchers used these clocks to estimate the biological age, which can then be compared with chronological age. The researchers used DNA from blood samples provided by women enrolled in the Sister Study conducted by NIEHS, a group of more than 50,000 women in the United States and Puerto Rico.

The study was specifically designed to identify environmental and genetic risk factors for bad cancer. The research team measured methylation in a subset of 2,764 women, all of whom were cancer-free at the time of blood collection.

"We found that if your biological age was greater than your chronological age, your risk of bad cancer was increased.The reverse was also true.If your biological age was younger than your chronological age, you could have a reduced risk of developing bad cancer, however, we do not yet know how exposures and lifestyle factors can affect biological age, or whether this process can be reversed, "said the corresponding author, Jack Taylor.

Lead author Jacob Kresovich had read studies using epigenetic clocks to predict age-related mortality. As age is the main risk factor for bad cancer, he hypothesized that its acceleration could be badociated with a higher risk of bad cancer.

"If you look at a group of people who are all the same age, some may be in perfect health, others may not, and this variability in health can be better captured by biological age than by age. chronological age, "said Kresovich.

Kresovich suggested that using DNA methylation to measure biological age could help scientists better understand people at risk of developing cancer and other diseases related to l & # 39; age.