There's an elephant in the room - Why are these animals resistant to cancer?

Less than 5% of elephants die from cancer. Why?
Published in Cancer
There's an elephant in the room - Why are these animals resistant to cancer?
Like

Although the average lifespan of an elephant is about 60 years, many live quite a bit longer. Some have been documented to live over 80 years! Despite their large size, which requires trillions of more cells than humans, and their age, elephants rarely get cancer. 

Some researchers are turning to this pachyderm and other organisms to uncover evolution's secret cancer fighting strategies. A study published in Cell Reports found that a gene found in elephants (LIF6) is upregulated in response to DNA damage through the p53 pathway. This signaling cascade induces apoptosis. Their findings suggest that this mechanism might underlie the elephant's resistance to cancer. 

These findings were featured in this CNN news article: https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/14/health/elephant-cancer-zombie-genetics-study/index.html


Please sign in or register for FREE

If you are a registered user on Research Communities by Springer Nature, please sign in