2020/09/01 by Alessandra Valéria de Sousa Faria, Sheila Siqueira Andrade, Maikel P. Peppelenbosch +2 · 1 citation
Medicine · #Cancer #Cause of death #Disease #Hemostasis #Immunology #Inflammation #Inflammatory Biomarkers in Disease Prognosis #Internal medicine #Medicine #Metastasis #Pathological #Platelet #Platelet Disorders and Treatments #Platelet activation #Thrombosis #Venous Thromboembolism Diagnosis and Management
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s10555-020-09926-2
openalex publication_date 2020/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Platelets control hemostasis and play a key role in inflammation and immunity. However, platelet function may change during aging, and a role for these versatile cells in many age-related pathological processes is emerging. In addition to a well-known role in cardiovascular disease, platelet activity is now thought to contribute to cancer cell metastasis and tumor-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) development. Worldwide, the great majority of all patients with cardiovascular disease and some with cancer receive anti-platelet therapy to reduce the risk of thrombosis. However, not only do thrombotic diseases remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, cancer, especially metastasis, is still the second cause of death worldwide. Understanding how platelets change during aging and how they may contribute to aging-related diseases such as cancer may contribute to steps taken along the road towards a "healthy aging" strategy. Here, we review the changes that occur in platelets during aging, and investigate how these versatile blood components contribute to cancer progression.