A decade ago, when telomeres were first described and a hypothesis of cellular ageing was advanced, there was no proof of a causal relationship between telomere loss and cellular death. Before that, the question why every cell should eventually die was merely philosophical; but nothing in life is left to chance, everything follows rules ? even if we do not known them. Cells that die too soon disrupt the harmonious state of health and cells that overstay their optimal time can turn malignant. It seems that in carcinogenesis, telomeres and their prolonged, unwanted persistence by the action of telomerases play a greater role than anticipated and their place in the complex process involving cellular ?immortality? in cancer merits a brief updated review.
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