Most scientific literature reports that aging favors the development of cancers. Each type of cancer, however, initiates and evolves differently, and their natural history can start much earlier in life before their clinical manifestations. The incidence of cancers is spread throughout human life span, and is the result of pre- and post-natal aggressions, individual susceptibility, developmental changes that evolve continuously throughout an individualʼs life, and time of exposure to carcinogens. Finally, during human senescence, the incidence declines for all cancers. Frequently, the progression of cancers is also slower in aged individuals. There are several possible explanations for this decline at the tissue, cell, and molecular levels, which will be described. It is time to ask why some tumors are characteristic of either the young, the aged, or during the time of a decline in the reproductive period, and finally, why the incidence of cancers declines late during senescence of human beings. These questions need to be addressed before the origin of cancers can be understood.

Biography

Dr. Alvaro Macieira-Coelho completed an MD at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, was an intern at the University Hospital, and completed a PhD at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. He was appointed Head of the Department of Cell Pathology, Cancer Institute, Villejuif, France and Research Director at the French National Institute of Health. He has authored 150 peer-reviewed articles and published nine books.

Awards: Fritz Verzar prize, University of Vienna; Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Linköping; Johananof International visiting professor, Mario Negri Institute, Milan; Seeds of Science Career prize, Lisbon.