Sleep apnea can lead to lung cancer at young age
Sleep apnea can lead to lung cancer at young age
Sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts is very likely to growth into lung cancer in young individuals, says a study. The sleep apnea syndrome is a chronic disease that affects about 10 per cent of the adult population in the world.
"The younger, the more vulnerable to cancer's aggressiveness," says a scientific study that was conducted with animal models at the University of Barcelona.
During these last years, researchers have shown interest in the study of the potential relationship between the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and its immediate consequence, intermittent hypoxia, with the appearance of tumours.
The new study represents a scientific advance within the research line of the potential effects of obstructive sleep apnea in cancer.
This study was conducted on young mice -equivalent ages to those in teenagers- and old mice -corresponding to people aged over 65. It shows how the lack of oxygen during sleep (hypoxia) speeds up tumour growth in the youth.
As per Isaac Almendros, a researcher, "We should consider the importance of the research conducted on animals aged equally to patients with respiratory chronic diseases, such as obstructive sleep apnea. Our challenge is to identify and prove sleep apnea's physiopathological consequences and contribute to the development of personalized medicine to work on its comprehensive handling".
-PTC News
