How does long-term smoking cause cancer? More than 12000 tumor samples uncover the secrets behind

CTOnews.com, November 15, most people know that smoking is harmful to health, and more and more studies have shown that long-term smoking increases the risk of cancer, but how does smoking cause cancer? The latest research provides new evidence.

Image source: WikiMedia Ontario Cancer Research Institute (OICR) found that long-term smoking induces DNA mutation through "stop gain mutation / nonsense mutation" (stop-gain), preventing cells from making the necessary proteins. This nonsense mutation can lead to early termination of protein coding, or the protein cannot be removed, or a truncated version will be translated.

OICR's team surveyed more than 12000 tumor samples from 18 different cancer types of DNA. Long-term smoking can cut off tumor suppressors and effectively inactivate them.

Dr. J ü ri Reimand, senior author of the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto, Canada, said: "our research shows that smoking characteristics in DNA produce these harmful protein truncation mutations that contribute to the development of cancer and its increased complexity over time.

The team identified SGM driven by APOBEC, "which may help decipher the role of APOBEC in tumorigenesis and progression," Reimand said. APOBEC's SGM is associated with breast cancer and other types of cancer.

CTOnews.com is attaching the address of the paper: Nina Adler et al. , Mutational processes of tobacco smoking and APOBEC activity generate protein-truncating mutations in cancer genomes.Sci. Adv.9,eadh3083 (2023). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adh3083