Dyskeratosis Congenita - Predisposition To Cancer

Predisposition To Cancer

Susceptibility to cancer seems counterintuitive because in many known cancers reactivation of telomerase is actually a required step for malignancy to evolve (See discussion here). In a disease where telomerase is affected, it does not seem to follow that cancer would be a complication to result. The authors note the paradoxical nature of cancer predisposition in individuals who seem to lack one of the required components for cancerous lesions. It is discussed that with reduced telomeres, chromosomes will likely be attached together at their ends through the non-homologous end joining pathway (NHEJ). If this were a common enough occurrence, malignancy even without functional telomerase seems probable.