Abstract #4505: Peripheral telomere shortening is most closely associated with young age of onset for pancreatic cancer

The risk for pancreatic cancer increases dramatically with age, but little is known about the way that increasing age influences the risk for pancreatic cancer. Telomere DNA repeats cap the ends of linear chromosomes and protect them from instability. With aging, the telomeres gradually shorten and have been associated with many diseases of aging. For example, shorter telomeres have been associated with a higher risk for several epithelial malignancies. We examined the association between telomere length as measured by quantitative PCR of peripheral blood DNA from 499 pancreatic cancer patients and 963 cancer-free controls. Telomere length was categorized in quintiles. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, cigarette smoking (current, former, never) and the presence of diabetes (fasting blood glucose > 100 mg/dL), and body mass index. Compared to those with the longest telomeres, we observed multivariate adjusted odds ratios for pancreatic cancer for participants in decreasing quintiles of telomere length of 1.17, 1.04, 1.65, and 1.63 (95% C.I. 1.15 - 2.23). Associations appeared stronger among younger participants. For those under 60 years old, odds ratios for decreasing quintiles of telomere length were 1.20,1.29,1.60 and 1.08 (95% C.I. 1.05-4.10) compared to the longest quintile of telomere length. These results support an association between shorter telomeres in peripheral blood samples, a marker of cellular aging, and an increased risk for pancreatic cancer that is most closely associated with younger age onset pancreatic cancer.

Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 4505.