It is a negative regulator of telomerase activity and thus inhibits the elongation of telomere length.
One of the current models suggests that during the early stages of cancer telomere erosion leads to short dysfunctional telomere erosion leads to short dysfunctional telomeres.
This new study looked at telomere length in families from northern Belgium.
Telomere maintenance is essential for tumor cells to by-pass replicative senescence and become immortal.
Recent evidence suggests that defects in DNA maintenance pathways and telomere dysfunction promote genomic instability and drives development of the disease.