SynthesisPloS one2015
The Association between Telomere Length and Cancer Prognosis: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Shorter telomere length as a prognostic marker for survival and recurrence in breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Exploration of targeted anti-tumor therapy · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Association between telomere length and survival in cancer patients: a meta-analysis and review of literature.Frontiers of medicine · 2016Pooled it
- Potential of hTERT mRNA for the management of advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Article
- Review
- Leukocyte Telomere Length and Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Prospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Relative telomer length as a potential biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma: a comparative study of HCV patients treated with direct antiviral agent.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- Telomere length and oxidative stress in small-cell lung cancer: commentary on prognostic value.Biochemia medica · 2026Article
- The impact of chronic exposure to cigarette and waterpipe smoke extracts on telomeres, telomerase, and cancer progression.Frontiers in genetics · 2026Article
- Telomere Length Abnormality: Investigating Approaches and Correlations with Cancer, Bone Marrow Failure and Hematological Malignancies.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Three-Dimensional Organization of Telomeres: An Emerging Prognostic Biomarker in Multiple Myeloma.Cells · 2025Review
- Beyond Telomeres: Unveiling the Extratelomeric Functions of TERT in B-Cell Malignancies.Cancers · 2025Review
- Techniques for assessing telomere length: A methodological review.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2024Review
- DNA methylation-based telomere length is associated with HIV infection, physical frailty, cancer, and all-cause mortality.Aging cell · 2024Article
- Semimethylation is a feature of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and subgroups with poor prognosis are characterized by global hypomethylation and short telomere length.Clinical epigenetics · 2024Article
- Leukocyte telomere length and lung function: a mendelian randomization study in European population.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Comparing Length and Telomere Expression at Oral Precancerous and Cancerous Stages.Iranian journal of pathology · 2024Article
- Differential Effects of Very-Low-Volume Exercise Modalities on Telomere Length, Inflammation, and Cardiometabolic Health in Obese Metabolic Syndrome Patients: A Subanalysis from Two Randomized Controlled Trials.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The dynamics of telomere length in primary and metastatic colorectal cancer lesions.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Sedentary Behaviour and Telomere Length Shortening during Early Childhood: Evidence from the Multicentre Prospective INMA Cohort Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTelomeres are essential for chromosomal integrity and stability. Shortened telomere length (TL) has been associated with risk of cancers and aging-related diseases. Several studies have explored associations between TL and cancer prognosis, but the results are conflicting.
methodsProspective studies on the relationship between TL and cancer survival were identified by a search of PubMed up to May 25, 2015. There were no restrictions on the cancer type or DNA source. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analysis approaches were conducted to determine pooled relative risks and 95% confidence intervals.
resultsThirty-three articles containing forty-five independent studies were ultimately involved in our meta-analysis, of which twenty-seven were about overall cancer survival and eighteen were about cancer progression. Short TL was associated with increased cancer mortality risk (RR = 1.30, 95%CI: 1.06-1.59) and poor cancer progression (RR = 1.44, 95%CI: 1.10-1.88), both with high levels of heterogeneity (I2 = 83.5%, P = 0.012for overall survival and I2 = 75.4%, P = 0.008 for progression). TL was an independent predictor of overall cancer survival and progression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Besides, short telomeres were also associated with increased colorectal cancer mortality and decreased overall survival of esophageal cancer, but not in other cancers. Cancer progression was associated with TL in Asian and America populations and short TL predicted poor cancer survival in older populations. Compared with tumor tissue cells, TL in blood lymphocyte cells was better for prediction. In addition, the associations remained significant when restricted to studies with adjustments for age, with larger sample sizes, measuring TL using southern blotting or estimating risk effects by hazard ratios.
conclusionShort TL demonstrated a significant association with poor cancer survival, suggesting the potential prognostic significance of TL. Additional large well-designed studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.