Cancer causes premature ageing, says study

Leukaemia promotes premature ageing in healthy bone marrow cells, according to new research from the University of East Anglia. The findings, published in the journal Blood, showed that healthy bone marrow cells were prematurely aged by cancer cells around them.

It is well known that ageing promotes cancer development, but this is the first time that the reverse has been shown to be true. Importantly, the aged bone marrow cells accelerated the growth and development of the leukaemia – creating a vicious cycle that fuels the disease.

The study also identified the mechanism by which this process of premature ageing occurs in the bone marrow of leukaemia patients and highlights the potential impact this could have on future treatments.

The research was led by Dr Stuart Rushworth from UEA’s Norwich Medical School. He said, “Our results provide evidence that cancer causes ageing. We have clearly shown that the cancer cell itself drives the ageing process in the neighbouring non-cancer cells. Our research reveals that leukaemia uses this biological phenomenon to its advantage to accelerate the disease.”