Cancer and Aging Fact Sheet (PDF 234 KB)
Summary
The Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) is interested in better understanding the short- and long-term effects of cancer and its treatment on aging trajectories during survivorship.
Areas of Research Emphasis
- Identification of aging phenotypes in cancer survivors and mechanisms underlying the emergent phenomena
- Development of methodological and measurement approaches to the identification of aging trajectories during cancer survivorship
- Development of interventions to prevent, ameliorate, or rehabilitate aging-related consequences of treatment among cancer survivors
- Use of population-based data and existing data resources to address cancer survivorship and aging hypotheses
- Use of patient-generated data to stratify risk, support decision-making, and optimize cancer and aging outcomes in cancer survivors
- Implications of aging-related changes in body composition, stress, medication use, environmental exposures, oral environment, and lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity, diet, and sleep patterns for cancer risk and outcomes
- Measurement and surveillance of biological, behavioral (e.g., energy balance), and psychosocial (e.g., depression, isolation) risk factors for multimorbidity in cancer survivors
- Inclusion of older adults in intervention and observational studies of survivorship
Articles and Publications
Development of Exercise as Interception Therapy for Cancer: A Review. Iyengar NM, Jones LW. JAMA Oncology, 2019. DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.2585.
The challenging landscape of cancer and aging: Charting a way forward. Sharpless N. Cancer Currents Blog, National Cancer Institute, 2018.
Breast cancer treatment and its effects on aging. Chang L, Weiner LS, Hartman SJ, Horvath S, Jeste D, Mischel PS, Kado DM. Journal of Geriatric Oncology, 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.jgo.2018.07.010.
Premature physiologic aging as a paradigm for understanding increased risk of adverse health across the lifespan of survivors of childhood cancer. Ness KK, Kirkland JL, Gramatges MM, Wang Z, Kundu M, McCastlain K, Li-Harms X, Zhang J, Tchkonia T, Pluijm SMF, Armstrong GT. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.jgo.2018.07.010.
Biology of premature ageing in survivors of cancer. Cupit-Link MC, Kirkland JL, Ness KK, Armstrong GT, Tchkonia T, LeBrasseur NK, Armedian SH, Ruddy KJ, Hashmi SK. ESMO Open, 2017. DOI: 10.1136/esmoopen-2017-000250.
Disease drivers of aging. Hodes RJ, Sierra F, Austad SN, Epel E, Neigh GN, Erlandson KM, Schafer MJ, LeBrasseur NK, Wiley C, Campisi J, Sehl ME, Scalia R, Eguchi S, Kasinath BS, Halter JB, Cohen HJ, Demark-Wahnefried W, Ahles TA, Barzilai N, Hurria A, Hunt PW. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2016. DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13299.
Reverse geroscience: How does exposure to early diseases accelerate the age-related decline in health? Kohanski RA, Deeks SG, Gravekamp C, Halter JB, High K, Hurria A, Fuldner R, Green P, Huebner R, Macchiarini F, Sierra F. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2016. DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13297.
Accelerated aging among cancer survivors: From pediatrics to geriatrics. Henderson TO, Ness KK, Cohen HJ. American Society of Clinical Oncology educational book. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Annual Meeting, 2014. DOI: 10.14694/EdBook_AM.2014.34.e423.
Geroscience: Linking aging to chronic disease. Kennedy BK, Berger SL, Brunet A, Campisi J, Cuervo AM, Epel ES, Franceschi C, Lithgow GJ, Morimoto RI, Pessin JE, Rando TA, Richardson A, Schadt EE, Wyss-Coray T, Sierra F. Cell, 2014. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.10.039.
Selected Grants Funded in Areas Relevant to Aging Trajectories in Cancer Survivors
DCCPS supports NCI-designated P30 Cancer Centers in developing new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. Through the Cancer and Aging initiative, several Cancer Centers have expanded their capacity to conduct research, plan strategy, facilitate professional collaborations, and implement efforts to increase understanding of the role of aging in cancer.
PI Name | Organization Name | Project Title | Project Number |
---|---|---|---|
Ahles, Tim | Sloan-Kettering Institute | Cognition in Older Breast Cancer Survivors: Treatment Exposure, APOE, and Smoking | |
Carroll, Judith Bower, Julienne |
University of California, Los Angeles | Accelerated biological aging in breast cancer and risk for cognitive and physical complaints | |
Irwin, Michael |
University of California Los Angeles | Sleep Disturbance, Inflammation, and Cellular Aging in Breast Cancer Survivors | |
Lin, Jenny | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | Disease Beliefs and Cognition: Effect on Diabetes Management in Older Breast Cancer Survivors | |
Mandelblatt, Jeanne |
Georgetown University | Bio-Behavioral Research at the Intersection of Cancer and Aging | |
Mandelblatt, Jeanne |
Georgetown University | Older Breast Cancer Patients: Risk for Cognitive Decline | |
Mohile, Supriya | University of Rochester | Reducing Chemotherapy Toxicity in Older Adults | |
Mohile, Supriya | University of Rochester | Understanding Treatment Tolerability in Older Patients with Cancer | |
Winters-Stone, Kerri | Oregon Health & Science University | Preventing Falls and Frailty in Prostate Cancer Survivors: Get Fit Prostate |
Funding for Aging Studies
Research Infrastructure Development for Interdisciplinary Aging Studies
PAR-18-645 (R21/R33 – Clinical Trial Optional)
Contact: Erica Breslau, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Related Initiatives
Perspectives on Cancer and Aging: The Arti Hurria Memorial Webinar Series
Dr. Arti Hurria, M.D., was a pioneer in the fields of geriatrics and oncology and a BRP grantee and collaborator. This quarterly NCI-sponsored webinar series strives to honor her legacy by creating a community of researchers dedicated to cancer and aging research and building a platform to broadly disseminate their work.
- Speakers: Dr. James DeGregori and Dr. Curtis Henry
- Speakers: Dr. Garnet Anderson and Dr. Elizabeth Cespedes Feliciano
- Speakers: Dr. Michael Irwin, Dr. Supriya Mohile, and Dr. Kerri Winters-Stone
- Speakers: Dr. Hyman Muss and Dr. Grant Williams
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April 9, 2020: Cancer and Aging: Biological and Phenotypic Measures of Aging
Speakers: Luigi Ferrucci, National Institute on Aging and Morgan Levine, Yale School of Medicine - Speakers: Kirsten K. Ness, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Monica Gramatges, Baylor College of Medicine
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October 7, 2019: Building Infrastructure for Cancer and Aging Research
Speakers: Supriya Mohile, University of Rochester, and William Dale, City of Hope
Cancer and Accelerated Aging: Advancing Research for Healthier Survivors
This initiative represents a collaboration of the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, and representatives from cancer research institutions throughout the country. It seeks to identify scientific research needs at the intersection of cancer and aging, encourage integration of aging-related endpoints into cancer treatment and survivorship studies, and build a transdisciplinary research portfolio to optimize healthy aging for cancer survivors.
Think Tank #1: Measuring Aging and Identifying Aging Phenotypes in Cancer Survivors
July 25-26, 2018
Meeting Agenda (PDF 868 KB)
Scientific Steering Committee and Invited Speakers (PDF 1.2 MB)
Meeting Report (PDF 2.1 MB)
Measuring Aging and Identifying Aging Phenotypes in Cancer Survivors. Guida JL, Ahles TA, Belsky D, Campisi J, Cohen HJ, DeGregori J, Fuldner R, Ferrucci L, Gallicchio L, Gavrilov L, Gavrilova N, Green PA, Jhappan C, Kohanski R, Krull K, Mandelblatt J, Ness KK, O'Mara A, Price N, Schrack J, Studenski S, Theou O, Tracy RP, Hurria A. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2019. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djz136.
Think Tank #2: Strategies to Prevent or Remediate Cancer- and Treatment-Associated Aging
February 11-12, 2019
Meeting Agenda (PDF 284 KB)
Scientific Steering Committee and Invited Speakers (PDF 1.5 MB)
Strategies to prevent or remediate cancer and treatment-related aging. Guida JL, Agurs-Collins T, Ahles TA, Campisi J, Dale W, Demark-Wahnefried W, Dietrich J, Fuldner R, Gallicchio L, Green PA, Hurria A, Janelsins MC, Jhappan C, Kirkland JL, Kohanski R, Longo V, Meydani S, Mohile S, Niedernhofer LJ, Nelson C, Perna F, Schadler K, Scott JM, Schrack JA, Tracy RP, van Deursen J, Ness K. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2020. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djaa060