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+--- Thread: The mystery of why so many lifelong smokers never get lung cancer may be solved (/thread-12321.html)
The mystery of why so many lifelong smokers never get lung cancer may be solved - C C - May 27, 2022
https://www.sciencealert.com/we-re-closer-to-understanding-why-most-lifelong-smokers-never-get-lung-cancer
INTRO: Smoking cigarettes is the number one risk factor for lung cancer, with tobacco products causing up to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in the United States. Without a doubt, the safest way to protect yourself against lung cancer is to avoid smoking cigarettes, and yet, at the same time, it's also true that not all lifelong smokers are doomed to develop cancer.
In fact, the vast majority don't. Scientists have long wondered why, and a new study adds weight to the idea that genetics has a role to play. Among people who smoke but never develop lung cancer, researchers found an inherent advantage. The cells that line their lungs appear to be less likely to mutate over time.
The findings suggest that DNA repair genes are more active among some individuals, which can protect against cancers arising, even when cigarettes are regularly smoked... (MORE - details)