**5. Telomere instability induced by anticancer drugs: Conclusions and future prospects**

Even though the studies performed so far demonstrate that a lot of work needs to be done in order to fully understand the effects of anticancer drugs on telomere stability and function, some important conclusions can be drawn from these studies.


In summary, further studies will be needed to fully elucidate the effects of anticancer drugs on telomere stability. Depending on the drug, these studies should be aimed at determining whether it induces short- and long-term telomere instability or not, and if this telomere instability is due to chromosome breakage or telomere dysfunction. Undoubtedly, these studies will contribute to a better understanding of the effects of the anticancer drugs on mammalian telomeres. This information will be of great importance to understand the genomic instability associated with chemotherapy regimens.
