Profile Of Biological Aging In First Primary Cancers: A Pan-Cancer Analysis Of Two Large-Scale Cohorts From The UK And Hong Kong

Biological aging that progresses faster than a person’s chronological age is associated with an elevated risk of developing various cancers, with a particularly strong link to lung cancer incidence and mortality.

It turns out that how quickly our bodies age at a cellular level, known as biological aging, might be a more significant factor in cancer risk than just our chronological age—the number of years we’ve been alive. Recent research, drawing on data from large groups of people in the UK and Hong Kong (called cohorts), has shed light on this complex relationship.

The study found that if a person’s biological age is accelerating, meaning their body is aging faster than their actual years, they face a higher overall risk of developing cancer. This accelerated aging seems to play a substantial role in certain cancers, particularly lung cancer, where it contributed to a significant portion of new cases and deaths, even more than genetic predispositions (our inherited risk based on DNA).

Researchers also discovered that our genes and the pace of biological aging can interact, influencing the risk for cancers like colorectal, lung, and non-melanoma skin cancer. These findings highlight the potential for new strategies in cancer prevention and treatment that focus on slowing down or addressing the processes of biological aging.