What is the relationship between telomeres and cancer?

Increased telomerase activity can increase longevity of cells, but it is also implicated in cancer formation. Almost 90 percent of cancer cells have been found to have enhanced telomerase activity, and a cancer cell usually divides about eighty times before a tumor mass becomes large enough to be detected. In contrast, normal human cells usually divide thirty to fifty times before telomeres become too short and doubling stops.

Previous question:	What is the cellular "fountain of youth"?
Next question:	What is transcription?

---