Abstract
Very old humans do not have Gompertzian mortality rates. Their mortality rates are less than would be predicted if the mortality rate doubled at a constant rate throughout the human life span. A very small percentage of humans reach an age (<90 years) when non-Gompertzian mortality rates are seen. Cancer mortality at old age exhibits non-Gompertzian rates. Based on 1990 United States vital statistics, cancer mortality rates increase more slowly with age than mortality rates from all causes of death combined or from circulatory diseases. The mortality rates from all kinds of cancer combined and from cancer of most sites peak at 80-94 years and decline at greater ages. Individuals who reach these ages have survived the cancer and other causes of death from which the majority in their cohorts died. They are relatively resistant to cancer and other causes of death.
One can speculate about the characteristic that make these individuals relatively resistant to cancer. They include different metabolism of carcinogens, genetic factors favoring resistance, such as alleles of tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, epigenetic factors, and less exposure to carcinogens.
Studies on identical twins suggest that environmental factors are more important than genetic factors in determining the risks of dying of cancer.
More people will survive to very old ages in the future than do today because of preventive measures and therapeutic interventions that reduce mortality rates. In order to survive, these people must be relatively resistant to dying from cancer, and some of the preventive and therapeutic interventions will be directed specifically at cancer.
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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Smith, D.W.E. (1999). Resistance to Causes of Death: A Study of Cancer Mortality Resistance in the Oldest Old. In: Robine, JM., Forette, B., Franceschi, C., Allard, M. (eds) The Paradoxes of Longevity. Research and Perspectives in Longevity. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60100-2_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60100-2_5
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