Chronomedicine may be conceptualized as dealing with the prevention, causation, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in humans. It has a particular focus on the role "time" [Greek: chrónos] plays in our physiology, endocrinology, metabolism and behavior at many organizational levels [1].
Chronomedicine focuses on optimizing therapy timing and dosage to have an optimal effect on circadian-controlled target processes. Newer approaches focus on stabilizing the circadian rhythm to counteract the development of diseases [2].
Evidence suggests that disruptions in the daily rhythms in sleep-wake, meal intake, and processes, including the cell cycle and metabolism, are implicated as both contributing to and resulting from tumor incidence and growth [3,4,5].
Chronomedicine Interest Group
The goals of this group are to provide a forum to stimulate scientific communication, share and disseminate information, and facilitate collaborations among NCI, NIH staff, and extramural academic scientists interested in the circadian clock, circadian rhythm, and chronomedicine research.
On September 27-28, 2017, DCTD led a workshop titled "Circadian Rhythm and Chronomedicine for Cancer and Other Diseases in the Era of Precision Medicine.” The workshop was co-funded by NCI, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The goals of the workshop were:
- Assess the status of circadian rhythm and sleep research in cancer research and other diseases. In addition, review the basic biology, population, translational, and clinical research evidence of chronobiology
- Discuss the scientific gaps, needs, and opportunities
- Provide input to NCI/NIH regarding future initiatives and priority research areas
- Improve our fundamental understanding of human circadian clock biology and translational application in public health, disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.
The Keynote Lecture titled “Cancer Clock Connections: Progress and Provocative Questions” was given by Dr. Chi Dang, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Wistar Institute. The following are the points of discussion and future work:
- Development of a circadian rhythm/clock atlas
- Potential importance of incorporating “Biological TIME” as a variable in medical research
- Envisioning the future 5-10 years of the field and its translational application for health and medicine
- White paper coordination and development to serve as a guide to future research
- Trans-NIH working group to further stimulate research in this field
In October 2017, the Nobel Prize Committee awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Drs. Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young, for their discovery of the genes and molecular mechanisms regulating circadian rhythm in all living organisms.
The Chronomedicine Interest Group sponsored the Chronomedicine Speaker Series, on November 19, 2020, with speakers, Drs. Samer Hatter and Brian Altman. Dr. Hattar's research focuses on light effects on circadian rhythms, sleep, mood, and learning, and he spoke on “Sleep Research.” Dr. Altman’s lecture was titled “Disruption of the circadian clock in cancer, and opportunities for therapy,” and his research interest includes the role of circadian rhythm in gene regulation, cancer cell biology, and metabolism.
References
1.Erren TC, Koch MS, Groß JV, Kämmerer-Cruchon S, Fuchs A, Pinger A, Reiter RJ. Chronomedicine: an old concept's fledging? A selective literature search. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2012;33(4):357-60. PMID: 22936255.
2. Harder L, Oster H. Circadian Rhythms – How Do They Affect Our Lives? Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2019; 144(15): 1014-1017 DOI: 10.1055/a-0662-1950
3. Pariollaud M, Lamia KA. Cancer in the Fourth Dimension: What Is the Impact of Circadian Disruption? Cancer Discov. 2020 Oct;10(10):1455-1464. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0413. Epub 2020 Sep 15. PMID: 32934020; PMCID: PMC7541588.
4. Altman BJ. Cancer Clocks Out for Lunch: Disruption of Circadian Rhythm and Metabolic Oscillation in Cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2016 Jun 24;4:62. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2016.00062. PMID: 27500134; PMCID: PMC4971383.
5. Damato AR, Herzog ED. Circadian clock synchrony and chronotherapy opportunities in cancer treatment. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Jun;126:27-36. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.07.017. Epub 2021 Aug 3. PMID: 34362656; PMCID: PMC8810901.
Contact
Dan Xi, PhD (xida@mail.nih.gov)