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This research has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the project PI20/0974 and PI20/01569 and co-funded by the European Union. A.M.-M. was funded by a predoctoral research grant from the Dr. Moraza Foundation (FMoraza18/001).

Analysis of institutional authors

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Article

Telomere Length as a New Risk Marker of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer

Publicated to:International Journal Of Molecular Sciences. 24 (4): 3526-3526 - 2023-02-01 24(4), DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043526

Authors: Martel-Martel, Abel; Corchete, Luis A; Marti, Marc; Vidal-Tocino, Rosario; Hurtado, Elena; alvaro, Edurne; Jimenez, Fernando; Jimenez-Toscano, Marta; Balaguer, Francesc; Sanz, Gonzalo; Lopez, Irene; Hernandez-Villafranca, Sergio; Ballestero, Araceli; Vivas, Alfredo; Melone, Sirio; Pastor, Carlos; Brandariz, Lorena; Gomez-Marcos, Manuel A; Cruz-Hernandez, Juan J; Perea, Jose; Gonzalez-Sarmiento, Rogelio

Affiliations

Clin Univ Navarra, Dept Colorectal Surg, Madrid 28027, Spain - Author
Fdn Jimenez Diaz Hosp, Dept Gen Surg & Digest Syst, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Hosp Clin San Carlos, Dept Surg, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Hosp Galdakao Usansolo, Dept Surg, Vizcaya 48960, Spain - Author
Hosp Mar, Dept Surg, Barcelona 08003, Spain - Author
Hosp MD Anderson, Dept Surg, Madrid 28033, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ 12 Octubre, Dept Surg, Madrid 28041, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ Fdn Alcorcon, Dept Surg, Madrid 28922, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ Gen Villalba, Dept Surg, Madrid 28400, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ Gregorio Maranon, Dept Surg, Madrid 28007, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ Infanta Leonor, Dept Surg, Madrid 28031, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ Ramon & Cajal, Dept Surg, Madrid 28034, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ Salamanca, Med Oncol Dept, Salamanca 37007, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Hosp Clin Barcelona, Inst Invest Biomed August Pi & Sunyer IDIBAPS, Ctr Invest Biomed Red Enfermedades Hepat & Digest, Barcelona 08036, Spain - Author
Univ Salamanca, Dept Med, Mol Med Unit, Salamanca 37007, Spain - Author
Univ Salamanca, Inst Biomed Res Salamanca IBSAL SACYL, CSIC, Paseo San Vicente 58182, Salamanca 37007, Spain - Author
Univ Salamanca, Inst Mol & Cellular Biol Canc IBMCC, CSIC, Salamanca 37007, Spain - Author
Vall dHebron Univ Hosp, Dept Surg, Barcelona 08035, Spain - Author
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Abstract

Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC; age younger than 50 years) incidence has been steadily increasing in recent decades worldwide. The need for new biomarkers for EOCRC prevention strategies is undeniable. In this study, we aimed to explore whether an aging factor, such as telomere length (TL), could be a useful tool in EOCRC screening. The absolute leukocyte TL from 87 microsatellite stable EOCRC patients and 109 healthy controls (HC) with the same range of age, was quantified by Real Time Quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Then, leukocyte whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed to study the status of the genes involved in TL maintenance (hTERT, TERC, DKC1, TERF1, TERF2, TERF2IP, TINF2, ACD, and POT1) in 70 sporadic EOCRC cases from the original cohort. We observed that TL was significantly shorter in EOCRC patients than in healthy individuals (EOCRC mean: 122 kb vs. HC mean: 296 kb; p < 0.001), suggesting that telomeric shortening could be associated with EOCRC susceptibility. In addition, we found a significant association between several SNPs of hTERT (rs79662648), POT1 (rs76436625, rs10263573, rs3815221, rs7794637, rs7784168, rs4383910, and rs7782354), TERF2 (rs251796 and rs344152214), and TERF2IP (rs7205764) genes and the risk of developing EOCRC. We consider that the measurement of germline TL and the status analysis of telomere maintenance related genes polymorphisms at early ages could be non-invasive methods that could facilitate the early identification of individuals at risk of developing EOCRC.

Keywords

early-onset colorectal cancerriskscreeningtelomere lengthAdultAgingArticleCancer patientCancer riskCancer screeningCell cycle proteinCell cycle proteinsClinical featureColorectal cancerColorectal neoplasmsColorectal tumorControlled studyDisease predispositionDkc1 protein, humanDna polymorphismEarly cancerEarly-onset colorectal cancerFemaleGenetic susceptibilityGeneticsGerm lineHumanHuman cellHumansIncidenceLeukocyteLeukocyte telomere lengthMajor clinical studyMaleMiddle agedNon invasive procedureNuclear proteinNuclear proteinsProspective studyReal time polymerase chain reactionRiskScreeningSingle nucleotide polymorphismTelomerase reverse transcriptaseTelomereTelomere homeostasisTelomere lengthTelomere shorteningTelomeric repeat binding factor 1Telomeric repeat binding factor 2Tumor markerWhole exome sequencing

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal International Journal Of Molecular Sciences due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 66/313, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 2.55, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-15, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 3
  • Scopus: 7
  • OpenCitations: 2

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-15:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 22.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 22 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 23.1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 33 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United States of America.