Tobacco smoking and other exposures shut off cancer-fighting genes

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk792

Keywords:

cancer, mutations, genomics

Abstract

DNA mutations causing cancer occur in cells through aging, environmental exposures, and cellular factors. By analysing thousands of cancer genomes, we found that tobacco smoking, APOBEC enzymes, and oxidative stress often introduce harmful “stop-gain” mutations that disable genes. This study highlights how some lifestyle choices and cellular processes can modify genes that protect us from cancer.

Author Biographies

Jüri Reimand, University of Toronto

Associate Professor

Nina Adler, University of Toronto

PhD student

Original article reference

Mutational processes of tobacco smoking and APOBEC activity generate protein-truncating mutations in cancer genomes. Nina Adler, Alexander T. Bahcheli, Kevin C. L. Cheng, Khalid N. Al-Zahrani, Mykhaylo Slobodyanyuk, Diogo Pellegrina, Daniel Schramek, Jüri Reimand. Science Advances, 3 Nov 2023, Vol 9, Issue 44, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh3083.

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Published

2024-08-29

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 3 (2024): TheScienceBreaker

Section

Health & Physiology

License

Some rights reserved 2024 Jüri Reimand, Nina Adler

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.