Dietary patterns and the neoplastic‐prone tissue landscape of old age

Abstract

There is now sufficient evidence to indicate that aging is associated with the emergence of a clonogenic and neoplastic-prone tissue landscape, which fuels early stages of cancer development and helps explaining the rise in cancer incidence and mortality in older individuals. Dietary interventions are among the most effective approaches to delay aging and age-related diseases, including cancer. Reduced caloric intake has been, historically, the most intensely investigated strategy. Recent findings point to a critical role of a long fasting interval in mediating some of the beneficial effects of caloric restriction. Time-restricted feeding, intermittent fasting, and fasting mimicking diets are being proposed for their potential to prolong healthy life span and to delay late-onset diseases such as neoplasia. Evidence will be discussed suggesting that the effects of these dietary regimens are mediated, at least in part, through retardation of age-related functional changes at cell and tissue level, including a delay in the emergence of the neoplastic-prone tissue microenvironment.

The sculpting of somatic mutational landscapes by evolutionary forces and their impacts on aging‐related disease

“…Previous authors have argued that aging is the cost of tumor suppression (e.g., [150,151]), with the claim that preventing cancer during youth requires mechanisms, such as limited telomere maintenance, that contribute to aging phenotypes at older ages. While such antagonistic pleiotropy (Box 1) could indeed allow some tumor suppressive mechanisms to contribute to aging phenotypes, it is notable that most interventions that delay aging also reduce cancer risks (like caloric restriction or exercise), while lifestyles that reduce lifespans (like smoking) increase cancer risks [152,153]. And, of course, the risk of many diseases, including cancers, CVD, and infections rises exponentially as humans age [2,154].…”

Aging and Cancer: The Waning of Community Bonds

“…Within this framework, it becomes reasonable to conceive possible strategies aimed at slowing down and/or delaying the onset of those specific changes that render the aged tissue more prone to cancer development. Among such strategies, dietary interventions have been revealed to be particularly effective [ 111 ].…”