E-cigarette users, even those with a limited history of smoking, experience similar DNA changes to smokers in specific cheek cells, reveals a noteworthy study led by researchers at UCL, London’s leading metropolitan university, and University of Innsbruck. Published in reputable journal Cancer Research, the groundbreaking investigation unveils a startling comparison between the effects of traditional tobacco smoking and e-cigarette usage on human DNA.
This groundbreaking study works as an augmenting pillar to our understanding of potential long-term effects of e-cigarettes on health. Although this investigation does not categorically state e-cigarettes as carcinogenic, it still brings to light undeniable connections shared by smoking tobacco and e-cigarette usage at the genetic level.
The study, a considerable accomplishment in the field of health science, assessed over 3,500 samples, examining the implications of tobacco and e-cigarettes on DNA methylation in terms of epigenetic modifications. Such alterations affect epithelial cells, often considered the cells of origin for cancer, extensively in smokers and strikingly, also in e-cigarette users with less than 100 smoking instances.
Epigenomes, akin to the software of a computer, undergo changes throughout life due to genetic or nongenetic factors, including aging, lifestyles, exposure to substances, environmental factors, and psychological traumas. Substantial changes were observed in the mouth’s epithelial cells of smokers, underlined by a further elevation of changes in lung cancers or pre-cancers, propelling cell growth at a faster pace.
Clubbing e-cigarettes with traditional tobacco smoking, first author of the study, Dr Chiara Herzog, stated, “we’ve also strived to consider the longer-term health implications of using e-cigarettes.”
The study also brings new hope by pointing out the potential of DNA changes related to smoking in identifying individuals at the highest risk of cancer and assessing the long-term health risks of e-cigarettes accurately.
However, the scientific fraternity echoes that the study, while exploratory, cannot conclusively confirm e-cigarettes as carcinogenic. As Dr. Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy, points out; such studies contribute towards understanding e-cigarettes but do not confirm them as a cause of cancer, emphasizing that further studies are required for a better evaluation of the risks.
Information Box:
* UCL, founded in 1826, is one of London’s leading multidisciplinary universities.
* The study aims to understand the long-term effects of e-cigarettes on human health.
* DNA changes in epithelial cells of e-cigarette users are similar to those in smokers.
* Epigenetic changes remain stable in some cells even after one stops smoking.
* More research is required to evaluate potential health-risks posed by e-cigarettes.
Reference 1: UCL Press Release
Reference 2: “Similar DNA changes found in cells of both smokers and e-cigarette users,” EurekAlert Press Release
Reference 3: Herzog, Chiara, et al. “Epigenetic changes in smokers and e-cigarette users,” Cancer Research Journal
Twitter Post: In an eye-opening study, researchers from UCL and University of Innsbruck uncover similar DNA changes in smokers and e-cigarette users. Is it time for a more nuanced discussion on the health implications of e-cigarettes? #Smoking #E-cigarettes #HealthNews