In-depth genetic research gives new insight into how smoking is capable of causing cancer in such a wide array of organs. The study provides a link between the number of cigarettes smoked and the number of mutations in tumor DNA.
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Smoking is a killer; new research uncovers its modus operandi.
The negative health consequences of smoking are well known and have been heavily studied.
An estimated 6 million people die each year due to smoking-related illnesses.
If trends continue, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there will be 1 billion tobacco-related deaths this century.
Smoking is known to cause irreparable damage in a variety of organs. It sparks mutations in DNA via a number of mechanisms.
However, it has not been clear how cancer generates so many different types of cancers in disparate body parts. To date, smoking has been associated with 17 types of cancer, but the genetic mechanisms behind this have remained hidden.
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Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and King's College London in the United Kingdom and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, recently undertook a deep dive into the genetics of smoking-related cancers. Their results are published this week in the journal Science.
In the most detailed investigation of its type, scientists delved into the the DNA of 5,000 tumors. They compared tumors from nonsmokers with tumors from smokers and examined any genetic differences. The analysis allowed them to understand the molecular fingerprints of smoking-related DNA damage.
The researchers were able to study these mutational signatures and count the number of mutations in each tumor.
Counting tobacco-related tumor mutationsOnce the data was in, the authors could measure the rate of mutations caused per cigarette smoked. They found that smoking a pack of cigarettes per day caused a predictable average number of mutations in the lungs over the course of a year.
"Before now, we had a large body of epidemiological evidence linking smoking with cancer, but now we can actually observe and quantify the molecular changes in the DNA due to cigarette smoking," says first author Dr. Ludmil Alexandrov, of the Los Alamos National Laboratory,.
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"With this study, we have found that people who smoke a pack a day develop an average of 150 extra mutations in their lungs every year, which explains why smokers have such a higher risk of developing lung cancer."
thuoc tri ung thu
Smoking is a killer; new research uncovers its modus operandi.
The negative health consequences of smoking are well known and have been heavily studied.
An estimated 6 million people die each year due to smoking-related illnesses.
If trends continue, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there will be 1 billion tobacco-related deaths this century.
Smoking is known to cause irreparable damage in a variety of organs. It sparks mutations in DNA via a number of mechanisms.
However, it has not been clear how cancer generates so many different types of cancers in disparate body parts. To date, smoking has been associated with 17 types of cancer, but the genetic mechanisms behind this have remained hidden.
fucoidan thuoc tri ung thu
Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and King's College London in the United Kingdom and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, recently undertook a deep dive into the genetics of smoking-related cancers. Their results are published this week in the journal Science.
In the most detailed investigation of its type, scientists delved into the the DNA of 5,000 tumors. They compared tumors from nonsmokers with tumors from smokers and examined any genetic differences. The analysis allowed them to understand the molecular fingerprints of smoking-related DNA damage.
The researchers were able to study these mutational signatures and count the number of mutations in each tumor.
Counting tobacco-related tumor mutationsOnce the data was in, the authors could measure the rate of mutations caused per cigarette smoked. They found that smoking a pack of cigarettes per day caused a predictable average number of mutations in the lungs over the course of a year.
"Before now, we had a large body of epidemiological evidence linking smoking with cancer, but now we can actually observe and quantify the molecular changes in the DNA due to cigarette smoking," says first author Dr. Ludmil Alexandrov, of the Los Alamos National Laboratory,.
fucoidan chua ung thu
"With this study, we have found that people who smoke a pack a day develop an average of 150 extra mutations in their lungs every year, which explains why smokers have such a higher risk of developing lung cancer."