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It has been said that all medical oncologists, with the exception of those who restrict their practice to pediatric patients, are ‘geriatric oncologists’. This, of course, because the average age of cancer is in excess of 65 years and the median age of most common adult tumors approaches 70 years. Similarly, scientists studying the mechanisms of cancer development and growth are uncovering and elucidating some of the basic molecular and cellular processes of aging. These include the controls of cellular proliferation, mechanisms of DNA repair, and programmed cell death. There are striking voids in our understanding of the basic mechanisms of aging, but one can not help but have the sense that the advances in this field will have the added value of enhancing our understanding of tumor development and growth.
William B. Ershler (Tue,) studied this question.