Photo by Sangharsh Lohakare on Unsplash

Using Clock Genes to Predict Cancer Prognosis

THE CIRCADIAN RHYTHM IS OUR BODY’S INTERNAL CLOCK that controls everything from when we sleep and awaken to when we eat or fast. Can our body’s natural timing system tell us about cancer prognosis?

I am a doctor who helps individuals with cancer, and while we have made good strides in improving survival odds and quality of life for most cancers, I am saddened every time I hear someone has cancer.

Photo by Ani Kolleshi on Unsplash

You probably know about some of the tools we currently use to manage cancer, including:

• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Drugs (targeted; immunotherapy; and more)
• Cryotherapy (a local treatment that uses extreme cold produced by liquid nitrogen or argon gas to destroy cancer cells)

Today, I will get a bit nerdy and introduce some basic science about how a better understanding of our body’s circadian rhythm may open a new pathway to targeting cancer.

Circadian Rhythm Basics

The circadian rhythm is our body’s internal clock.