WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new study has found that people who don't smoke can still get lung cancer due to things like air pollution, harmful chemicals, and certain traditional herbal medicines.
'We're seeing this problematic trend that never-smokers are increasingly getting lung cancer, but we haven't understood why,' said co-senior author Ludmil Alexandrov.
'Our research shows that air pollution is strongly associated with the same types of DNA mutations we typically associate with smoking.'
The study, published in Nature, looked at the full genetic makeup of lung tumors from 871 people around the world who had never smoked. Using advanced DNA testing, scientists identified patterns of genetic mutations that are usually seen in smokers but were now also found in non-smokers exposed to pollution or toxic substances.
Researchers combined this genetic data with pollution readings from satellites and ground stations to estimate how much air pollution each person had been exposed to over time.
They discovered that non-smokers living in more polluted areas had more harmful mutations in their lung tumors, especially in genes that cause cancer. One key mutation was found in the TP53 gene, which is also commonly seen in smokers.
People exposed to more pollution also had shorter telomeres, the protective ends of DNA strands, which is a sign of faster cell aging and is linked to cancer.
The study also found a link between lung cancer and a toxic chemical called aristolochic acid, which is found in some traditional Chinese herbal medicines. This chemical left a unique genetic fingerprint in lung cancer patients in Taiwan, suggesting that breathing it in, not just swallowing it, could be dangerous.
'This raises new concerns about how traditional remedies might unintentionally raise cancer risk,' said co-senior author Maria Teresa Landi. 'It also presents a public health opportunity for cancer prevention - particularly in Asia.'
However, the study noted that more research is needed to understand how these environmental and herbal exposures lead to specific genetic mutations and whether they directly cause lung cancer.
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