Time Matters: Importance of Circadian Rhythms, Disruption, and Chronotherapy in Urologic Malignancies

Sierra T Pence; Gregory T Chesnut; Ayesha A Shafi

doi:10.1016/j.urology.2023.01.009

Time Matters: Importance of Circadian Rhythms, Disruption, and Chronotherapy in Urologic Malignancies

Urology. 2023 May:175:6-12. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2023.01.009. Epub 2023 Jan 21.

Authors

Sierra T Pence¹, Gregory T Chesnut², Ayesha A Shafi³

Affiliations

¹ Center for Prostate Disease Research, Murtha Cancer Center Research Program, Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD.
² Center for Prostate Disease Research, Murtha Cancer Center Research Program, Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD; Urology Service, Department of Surgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD.
³ Center for Prostate Disease Research, Murtha Cancer Center Research Program, Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD; The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD. Electronic address: ashafi@cpdr.org.

PMID: 36693529
DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2023.01.009

Abstract

The human body was evolutionarily programmed to run on cycles, termed circadian rhythms, which integrate human behavior and bodily function with the environment. Disruptions to these rhythms via desynchronization have been deemed a probable carcinogen by the WHO. Subsequent research has identified alterations in multiple core clock genes when comparing tumor and benign tissues. This review will discuss core clock genes associated with urogenital malignancies and highlight impactful research regarding circadian biology use in treatment. Chronotherapy, treatment alignment with an individual's biological rhythm, remains a relatively untouched field within urology that should be explored to possibly enhance therapeutic outcomes.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Chronotherapy
Circadian Rhythm*
Humans
Urologic Neoplasms* / genetics
Urologic Neoplasms* / therapy