Researchers find genetic damage in lungs of ex-smokers

Cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor for lung cancer

In this story:

• Experts call research a breakthrough
• Cancer risk remains for ex-smokers
• Related sites and stories

March 23, 1998
Web posted at: 8:32 p.m. EST (0132 GMT)

NEWPORT BEACH, California (CNN) -- Researchers at the University of Texas have discovered long-term genetic damage in cells lining the lungs of former smokers, a trait that could serve as a diagnostic marker for early detection of lung cancer.

Smokers have been told that quitting can dramatically reduce their risk of developing lung cancer, although doctors have long suspected the risk never fully disappears.

The research shows that former smokers probably always carry a higher risk of cancer than those who never light up.

Experts call research a breakthrough

Doctors at an American Cancer Society meeting where the research was presented said this discovery offers the potential to perhaps one day predict the cancer risk for former smokers.

"We can target this high risk (group of patients) for not only chemo-prevention, but also the early detection of the lung cancer," said Dr. Wuan Ki Hong of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where the study was done.

Early detection of any cancer increases treatment options and survival rates. But because symptoms in lung cancer often don't show up until the disease is far along, early detection is not easy.

Cancer experts say this research is a breakthrough in the push for a better early warning test, especially for former smokers.

"The genetic damage that these people have suffered as a result of smoking can be measured now, by using these genetic tests," said Frank McCormick, the director of the University of California-San Francisco Cancer Center.

Cancer risk remains for ex-smokers

Doctors say this latest research also reinforces the need to keep young people from starting to smoke, since those with the lowest threat of lung cancer are those who never picked up the habit.

Smoking is blamed for nearly one-third of all cancer deaths in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Cigarette smoking has dropped by 40 percent over the past three decades, researchers say, in large part due to the message that "smoking can kill."

Medical Correspondent Al Hinman contributed to this report.

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• National Cancer Institute

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