Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Inverse association between cancer and neurodegenerative disease: review of the epidemiologic and biological evidence

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Biogerontology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests an unusual epidemiologic association between cancer and certain neurological conditions, particularly age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Cancer survivors have a 20–50 % lower risk of developing Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and patients with these neurodegenerative conditions have a substantially lower incidence of cancer. We review the epidemiologic evidence for this inverse co-morbidity and show that it is not simply an artifact of survival bias or under-diagnosis. We then review the potential biological explanations for this association, which is intimately linked to the very different nature of dividing cells and neurons. The known genetic and metabolic connections between cancer and neurodegeneration generally fall within two categories. The first includes shared genes and pathways such as Pin1 and the ubiquitin proteasome system that are dysregulated in different directions to cause one disease or the other. The second includes common pathophysiological mechanisms such as mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and DNA damage that drive both conditions, but with different cellular fates. We discuss examples of these biological links and their implications for developing new approaches to prevention and treatment of both diseases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Download references

Acknowledgments

Dr. Driver is supported by a Merit Review Award from the Veteran’s Administration.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jane A. Driver.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Driver, J.A. Inverse association between cancer and neurodegenerative disease: review of the epidemiologic and biological evidence. Biogerontology 15, 547–557 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-014-9523-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-014-9523-2

Keywords

Navigation