Grant Number:	5R03CA139586-02 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Hazra, Aditi
Organization:	Harvard School Of Public Health
Project Title:	Association of Telomere Length with Colorectal Cancer and Adenoma
Fiscal Year:	2010

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Telomere length measured in peripheral blood leucocytes (PBLs) has emerged as a principal biomarker of aging and cancer risk. Telomeres are TTAGGG repeat complexes at the end of chromosomes that protect against degradation, fusion, and aberrant recombination of chromosomes. As telomeres shorten with each cell replication cycle, they indicate the number of divisions a cell has undergone. Shorter telomere length has been associated with risks of head and neck, lung, renal cell and bladder cancers, ulcerative colitis and colon cancer; however, no prospective studies of colorectal cancer and adenoma have been published. We propose to investigate the association between telomere length in PBLs and risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma in two large nested case-control studies, the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. In a subset of the samples, we will also determine whether telomere length in PBLs is correlated with telomere length in paired colorectal cancer tumor samples. In addition, we will examine the environmental and lifestyle predictors of telomere length. Our prospective determination of telomere length will be particularly important not only for confirming the value of telomere length as a risk marker, but also for understanding how lifestyle factors directly affect telomere shortening, possibly leading to strategies to reduce risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma.




Leukocyte Telomere Length and All-Cause, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer Mortality: Results From Individual-Participant-Data Meta-Analysis of 2 Large Prospective Cohort Studies.
Authors: Mons U. , Müezzinler A. , Schöttker B. , Dieffenbach A.K. , Butterbach K. , Schick M. , Peasey A. , De Vivo I. , Trichopoulou A. , Boffetta P. , et al. .
Source: American journal of epidemiology, 2017-06-15; 185(12), p. 1317-1326.
PMID: 28459963
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Coffee Consumption Is Positively Associated with Longer Leukocyte Telomere Length in the Nurses' Health Study.
Authors: Liu J.J. , Crous-Bou M. , Giovannucci E. , De Vivo I. .
Source: The Journal of nutrition, 2016 Jul; 146(7), p. 1373-8.
EPub date: 2016-06-08.
PMID: 27281805
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A prospective study of leukocyte telomere length and risk of phobic anxiety among women.
Authors: Ramin C. , Wang W. , Prescott J. , Rosner B. , Simon N.M. , De Vivo I. , Okereke O.I. .
Source: Psychiatry research, 2015-12-15; 230(2), p. 545-52.
PMID: 26603336
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Mediterranean diet and telomere length in Nurses' Health Study: population based cohort study.
Authors: Crous-Bou M. , Fung T.T. , Prescott J. , Julin B. , Du M. , Sun Q. , Rexrode K.M. , Hu F.B. , De Vivo I. .
Source: BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2014-12-02; 349, p. g6674.
EPub date: 2014-12-02.
PMID: 25467028
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Genetic predisposition to higher body mass index or type 2 diabetes and leukocyte telomere length in the Nurses' Health Study.
Authors: Du M. , Prescott J. , Cornelis M.C. , Hankinson S.E. , Giovannucci E. , Kraft P. , De Vivo I. .
Source: PloS one, 2013; 8(2), p. e52240.
EPub date: 2013-02-12.
PMID: 23424613
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Paternal age at birth is associated with offspring leukocyte telomere length in the nurses' health study.
Authors: Prescott J. , Du M. , Wong J.Y. , Han J. , De Vivo I. .
Source: Human reproduction (Oxford, England), 2012 Dec; 27(12), p. 3622-31.
EPub date: 2012-08-30.
PMID: 22940768
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High phobic anxiety is related to lower leukocyte telomere length in women.
Authors: Okereke O.I. , Prescott J. , Wong J.Y. , Han J. , Rexrode K.M. , De Vivo I. .
Source: PloS one, 2012; 7(7), p. e40516.
EPub date: 2012-07-11.
PMID: 22808180
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