TERT and cancer: Replicative senescence resulting from shortened or dysfunctional telomere due to telomerase/TERT repression, although detrimental to tissue homeostasis and organ function, has been suggested as a trade-off for cancer resistance, a naturally occurring strategy against cancer evolved in long-lived and large-bodied mammalian species, including humans (with body mass >5–10 kg) [12,14].