Posted on 11/05/2023 5:54:07 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Scientists have uncovered one way tobacco smoking causes cancer and makes it harder to treat by undermining the body's anti-cancer safeguards.
Their study links tobacco smoking to harmful changes in DNA called 'stop-gain mutations' that tell the body to stop making certain proteins before they are fully formed.
They found these stop-gain mutations were especially prevalent in genes known as 'tumor-suppressors,' which make proteins that would normally prevent abnormal cells from growing.
"Our study showed that smoking is associated with changes to DNA that disrupt the formation of tumor suppressors," says Nina Adler. "Without them, abnormal cells are allowed to keep growing unchecked by the cell's defenses and cancer can develop more easily."
Adler, Reimand and colleagues used powerful computational tools to analyze DNA from more than 12,000 tumor samples across 18 different types of cancer. Their analysis showed a strong link between stop-gain mutations in lung cancer and the telltale 'footprint' that smoking leaves in DNA.
The researchers then looked at whether how much someone smoked had an impact. Sure enough, their analysis showed that more smoking led to more of these harmful mutations, which can ultimately make cancer more complex and harder to treat.
Says Reimand. "Our study highlights how tobacco smoking actually deactivates critical proteins, which are the building blocks of our cells, and the impact that can have on our long-term health."
The study also identified other factors and processes responsible for creating large numbers of stop-gain mutations, which are also called 'nonsense' mutations.
Some, like a group of enzymes called APOBEC that is strongly linked to stop-gain mutations in breast cancer and other cancer types, occur naturally in the body. Other factors like unhealthy diet and alcohol consumption are also likely to have similar damaging effects on DNA, but Reimand says more information is needed.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
A separate study shows that an average of 150 mutations occur a year in the lungs of a one pack-a-day smoker.
And if cancer spares you, COPD will get you, followed by blockage of coronary arteries. But hey, Marlborough man was so cool.
These vaxxxxxxine induced cancers are resistant to treatment AND grow like the name implies. Some patients come in and are diagnosed w/stage 4 cancers and are dead just a few weeks later.
I’m not sure why this is a surprise. The statistics and cancer incidents were always there. We just happen to have found ONE of the mechanisms.
I’m more curious if they tested on various types of tobacco or was it the ash remains of burning leaves enough to do it? (which implicates pot) or was it something else entirely?
What is not clear is whether this result is because of cigarettes themselves, or only nicotine. Pure nicotine has many possible health benefits and has been approved by the FDS in patches.
It’s not the nicotine in tobacco that’s carcinogenic but rather the 100s of other chemical compounds. Burned tobacco has a ton of carcinogens but even unburned tobacco (cf. chew) contains “nitrosamines” that cause mouth cancer, etc.
Combustion byproducts and tobacco constituents both. I don’t think nicotine itself plays much of a role except in maintaining the addiction. Could be wrong.
the nicotine is inflammatory and causes heart disease
“No respect I tell ya! My doctor says I gotta keep smoking if I want to stop chewing gum!’’.
>“No respect I tell ya! My doctor says I gotta keep smoking if I want to stop chewing gum!’’.<
Laugh of my day! I really needed that.
When I quit smoking a bazillion years ago, my thyroid crashed. My research at the time showed this to not be unusual.
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