Common features of chromatin in aging and cancer: cause or coincidence?

• Chromatin features are altered in aging and in cancer.
• Several changes to chromatin are common between aging and cancer.
• Mechanisms by which aging-associated changes in chromatin may contribute to tumorigenesis can be envisioned.

Age is a major risk factor for cancer. Alterations in DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin structure, and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms are prominent hallmarks of both the aging process and cancer. Intriguingly – or possibly coincidentally – several chromatin features are common between aging and cancer. Here we ask whether, and if so how, aging-associated chromatin modifications contribute to tumor susceptibility and tumorigenesis.