Wendie Trubow, MD, MBA, IFMCPPresident at Five Journeys, Functional Medicine & Wellness Provider, Best Selling Author, Passionate Champion for Health

How Telomerase Decreases the Growth of Cancer

4 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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0:47

In a brief dialogue, Speaker A asks whether a telomere‑lengthening intervention could increase the risk of uncontrolled cell growth or cancer, since it would remove a natural growth‑inhibiting mechanism. Speaker B responds that lengthening telomeres does not cause cells to become cancerous; it merely provides cells with additional “ride tickets” – more opportunities to divide when needed – without forcing them to divide. Moreover, research cited by Speaker B indicates that telomerase activation and telomere extension actually lower the rate at which cells become cancer‑inducing, thereby decreasing overall cancer risk.

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If you give this to people, does it raise the chance of out of control growth or any type of cancer related issue because you're, you're no longer inhibiting the growth, or does it not translate into that.
Cancer is out of control growth? As you said, that's what cancer is. Lengthening telomeres does not make cells become have out of control growth. It just gives them more opportunities to divide when they need to. It gives them more ride tickets, but it doesn't make them go on the rides. Okay? And in fact, what we found was that it actually decreased the rate of cells becoming cancer inducing telomerase production. And lengthening telomeres does not cause cancer, it decreases the risk of cancer.