Summary
Abstract This application focuses on understanding the genetic basis of a recently recognized cancer-prone syndrome caused by long telomere length. It is driven by extended cellular longevity, a mechanism that is distinct from tumor suppressor- and oncogene-mediated familial cancer syndromes. Telomere length is constrained in the human population to a relatively narrow range and telomerase elongation is tightly regulated. Recent studies, from multiple lines of evidence from our group and others, have uncovered that genetically-determined short telomere length, at certain thresholds, is protect
