Some smokers might not get lung cancer because of their DNA, researchers report in a new study.
These people have genes that help limit mutations, or changes, to DNA that would turn cells malignant and make them grow into tumors, the researchers say.
Scientists have long suspected that smoking leads to lung cancer by triggering DNA mutations in healthy cells. But it was hard for them to identify the mutations in healthy cells that might help predict future cancer risk, Jan Vijg, PhD, a senior author of the study and researcher at the University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China, said in a statement.
His team used a process called single-cell whole genome sequencing to examine cells lining the lungs of 19 smokers and 14 nonsmokers ranging in age from their pre-teens to their mid-80s. The cells came from patients who had tissue samples collected from their lungs during diagnostic testing unrelated to cancer. The scientists reported their findings in Nature Genetics .
The researchers specifically looked at cells lining the lungs because these cells can survive for years and build up mutations over time that are linked to aging and smoking.
"Of all the lung's cell types, these are among the most likely to become cancerous," says Simon Spivack, MD, a senior author of the study and professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
