Smokers with Gene Defect Increases Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is often closely linked to smoking. a recent study found that one in four smokers with specific gene defects will have lung cancer.

Chairman of the study, Richard Houlston, professor of molecular and population genetics at the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK said that smokers generally have an increased risk of lung cancer by 15 percent, this value is much higher compared with nonsmokers. However, in smokers who have a gene defect, the risk increased by 10 percent, to 25 percent.


"Lung cancer occurs in more than one million people each year worldwide. way to reduce deaths from lung cancer is by encouraging people not to smoke."

according to him, the results of this study will add a reason why people need to stop bad habits, namely smoking.

Houlston and colleagues found an association between lung cancer with BRCA2 gene defects by analyzing the DNA of more than 11,000 Europeans and 16,000 lung cancer for people who do not have the disease.

According to a study published in the journal Nature Genetics, disability BRCA2 gene has been identified as the cause of the increased risk of breast cancer that occurs in 2 percent of people. This gene was also able to double the risk of lung cancer.

The relationship between the BRCA2 gene defects and lung cancer was stronger for patients with a type of lung cancer most commonly affects. in addition, the researchers also found an association between the type of cancer with a CHEK2 gene mentioned that normally prevent cells divide when DNA damage occurs.

Accordingly, the researcher pressed, a strong association between lung cancer with BRCA2 gene does not mean that the gene is what causes lung cancer. so that the two do not show a causal relationship.