{"id":{"repo_id":"vcu","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1474"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vcu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1474","repository":{"repo_id":"vcu","name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","base_url":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Chromosome-Specific Telomere Length in Women with Breast Cancer: Their Relationship to Chemotherapy and Acquired Psychoneurological Symptoms","abstract":"Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common diagnosed malignancies in females. Although 90% of early diagnosed women are expected to survive for at least 5 years, their quality of life is adversely affected by a cluster of symptoms which we collectively named “psychoneurological symptoms’’ (PN). Given that acquired telomere attrition has been speculated to be a causal factor in chronic diseases and the lack in the literature of mechanisms giving rise to PN symptoms, this study was performed to assess telomere length using a chromosome-specific telomere assay before receiving chemotherapy and at the first chemotherapy. We showed significant telomere attrition on the short arm of chromosome 9. In addition, we showed a negative correlation between telomere length and depression. Furthermore, we evaluated several variables as predictors of the change in telomere length and showed that chemotherapy was predictive of shortened telomere length. Taken together, one can speculate that shortened telomeres could result in epigenetic alterations in the genes juxtaposed to the telomeric region, giving rise to the development and persistence of PN symptoms. Knowledge gained from this study will offer hope for the development of therapeutic interventions that could prevent undesirable side effects and ensure a better quality of life for patients with BC.","abstract_html":"Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common diagnosed malignancies in females. Although 90% of early diagnosed women are expected to survive for at least 5 years, their quality of life is adversely affected by a cluster of symptoms which we collectively named “psychoneurological symptoms’’ (PN). Given that acquired telomere attrition has been speculated to be a causal factor in chronic diseases and the lack in the literature of mechanisms giving rise to PN symptoms, this study was performed to assess telomere length using a chromosome-specific telomere assay before receiving chemotherapy and at the first chemotherapy. We showed significant telomere attrition on the short arm of chromosome 9. In addition, we showed a negative correlation between telomere length and depression. Furthermore, we evaluated several variables as predictors of the change in telomere length and showed that chemotherapy was predictive of shortened telomere length. Taken together, one can speculate that shortened telomeres could result in epigenetic alterations in the genes juxtaposed to the telomeric region, giving rise to the development and persistence of PN symptoms. Knowledge gained from this study will offer hope for the development of therapeutic interventions that could prevent undesirable side effects and ensure a better quality of life for patients with BC.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Alhareeri, Areej"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Human Genetics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Colleen Jackson-Cook"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-04-26T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-04-26T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:56Z","subjects":["Medical Genetics","Medical Sciences","Medicine and Health Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/475"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/475","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/475","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/HHJ1-BR61","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Colleen Jackson-Cook"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Alhareeri, Areej"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-05-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Human Genetics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Medical Genetics","Medical Sciences","Medicine and Health Sciences"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/HHJ1-BR61","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/475"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common diagnosed malignancies in females. Although 90% of early diagnosed women are expected to survive for at least 5 years, their quality of life is adversely affected by a cluster of symptoms which we collectively named “psychoneurological symptoms’’ (PN). Given that acquired telomere attrition has been speculated to be a causal factor in chronic diseases and the lack in the literature of mechanisms giving rise to PN symptoms, this study was performed to assess telomere length using a chromosome-specific telomere assay before receiving chemotherapy and at the first chemotherapy. We showed significant telomere attrition on the short arm of chromosome 9. In addition, we showed a negative correlation between telomere length and depression. Furthermore, we evaluated several variables as predictors of the change in telomere length and showed that chemotherapy was predictive of shortened telomere length. Taken together, one can speculate that shortened telomeres could result in epigenetic alterations in the genes juxtaposed to the telomeric region, giving rise to the development and persistence of PN symptoms. Knowledge gained from this study will offer hope for the development of therapeutic interventions that could prevent undesirable side effects and ensure a better quality of life for patients with BC."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Chromosome-Specific Telomere Length in Women with Breast Cancer: Their Relationship to Chemotherapy and Acquired Psychoneurological Symptoms"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Colleen Jackson-Cook"],"dc:creator":["Alhareeri, Areej"],"dc:date.available":["2018-05-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common diagnosed malignancies in females. Although 90% of early diagnosed women are expected to survive for at least 5 years, their quality of life is adversely affected by a cluster of symptoms which we collectively named “psychoneurological symptoms’’ (PN). Given that acquired telomere attrition has been speculated to be a causal factor in chronic diseases and the lack in the literature of mechanisms giving rise to PN symptoms, this study was performed to assess telomere length using a chromosome-specific telomere assay before receiving chemotherapy and at the first chemotherapy. We showed significant telomere attrition on the short arm of chromosome 9. In addition, we showed a negative correlation between telomere length and depression. Furthermore, we evaluated several variables as predictors of the change in telomere length and showed that chemotherapy was predictive of shortened telomere length. Taken together, one can speculate that shortened telomeres could result in epigenetic alterations in the genes juxtaposed to the telomeric region, giving rise to the development and persistence of PN symptoms. Knowledge gained from this study will offer hope for the development of therapeutic interventions that could prevent undesirable side effects and ensure a better quality of life for patients with BC."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/HHJ1-BR61","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/475"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["Medical Genetics","Medical Sciences","Medicine and Health Sciences"],"dc:title":["Chromosome-Specific Telomere Length in Women with Breast Cancer: Their Relationship to Chemotherapy and Acquired Psychoneurological Symptoms"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Human Genetics"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:56Z"}