NEW RESEARCH shows that genetic factors can leave a smoker at much greater risk of developing lung cancer. Your genes can also make you more prone to nicotine addiction.
Three independent studies involving researchers and subjects from around the world all point to the same location on chromosome 15 as being responsible for these risks. The work is published this morning in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics.
While there is a significant level of disagreement between teams on aspects of the research, all focus on one genetic region, known as 15q25, and all agree that having certain gene variations there can increase the dangers of tobacco smoke.
The researchers all relied on huge genetic studies involving the analysis of hundreds of thousands of genes looking for any association with lung cancer.
A collaboration by scientists in Britain and the US showed that having one gene variation doubled a smoker's lung-cancer risk.
Another study led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, looked at more than 317,000 gene variations and found that certain variants strongly predisposed a smoker to developing lung cancer.
A research group from Iceland led work on the third paper, which found that having a certain gene variation tended to increase the number of cigarettes a person smoked. This in turn was likely to increase the risk of developing smoking-related diseases.
The research also showed that at least half of the 35,000 people involved in the study actually carried these genetic variations, whether they were smokers or not. However, the genetic risk factors only became an issue if a person actually began to smoke.
While identifying these genetic connections was useful, there was no argument over the dangers of smoking, said Norma Cronin, manager of the Irish Cancer Society's tobacco control unit.
"If you smoke you are putting yourself at risk of lung cancer," she said yesterday.
About 1,500 people die each year from lung cancer.
"Ninety-five per cent of people who get lung cancer are smokers, so it is well known it is directly related to smoking. And 30 per cent of all cancers are associated with smoking," Ms Cronin added.
"The most important factor for lung-cancer prevention is not to smoke."
The Irish Cancer Society's national smoking quit-line can be reached on 1850 201 203