Some people have been smoking cigarette well into their 80’s and 90’s while other cigarette smokers develop lung cancer after smoking for a much shorter time. Researchers studying the human genome think they may have finally solved that mystery.
In a joint study conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, researchers analyzed the genetic coding of 1,154 MD Anderson cancer patients who were current or former smokers diagnosed with lung cancer. The same analysis was done on a control group of 1,137 non-smoking study participants.
Several hundred thousand genetic coding variations were isolated and then narrowed to 10 and, finally, to only two. The two variants, associated with smoking behaviors and the risk of developing lung cancer, were found in the DNA code of 711 cancer patients and 632 control group members in Houston.
Researchers in the United Kingdom replicated the Houston study, using 2,013 cancer patients with a history of smoking and 3,062 non-smoking control group members.
To provide the clearest analysis, all study participants were Caucasian and were grouped according to gender, age, and similar smoking behaviors.
The genetic variants seemed to produce only minor effect on the smoking behaviors alone but produced a highly significant increase in the risk of lung cancer. The research team is hoping the data can be used to determine who is most likely to benefit from cancer screening and for gauging the risk of other cancers related to smoking, such as bladder, esophageal, head and neck, and pancreatic cancers.
Plans are already under way to conduct a similar study on African-American smokers.
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