Smoking damages genetic material in a few minutes

Cigarette smoke damages the human genome within a few minutes and allows Kreberregende substances to arise faster.

16/01/2011

Inhalation of cigarette smoke damages the genome only a few minutes after inhalation. So far, researchers have always assumed that this damaging process takes only a few years. But apparently only a few minutes are enough.

Scientist of „University of Minnesota“ in Minneapolis found out from a study that cigarette smoke damages the DNA structure within a few minutes after cigarette consumption. Researchers had previously assumed that the process of genome damage would be accelerated only after several years. But it only takes about 15 minutes for differentiated hydrocarbon compounds to convert the smoke in the body into toxic substances. These toxic substances subsequently damage the DNA stored in the DNA and thus cause tissue mutations. These mutations can in turn promote the development of malignant cells and lead to cancers such as lung cancer or esophageal cancer. As the team around Stephen Hecht of the University of Minnesota confirmed, not only regular smokers are affected by the genetic damage, but also those who only occasionally reach for a cigarette. That's because the cancerous substances are formed immediately.

Common diagnosis: lung cancer
Around 46,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year in Germany. In about 90 percent of cancer cases, people have smoked before. Even those who have already stopped smoking may become ill with the cancer. In men, lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. In only five percent of all cases is there a 5-year survival predicase. Only if the lung cancer is detected early, the survival rate may be higher. Since early lung cancer does not cause any discomfort to the patient, the early detection rate is generally very low.

Cigarette smoke not only causes lung cancer. According to the current state of knowledge, at least eighteen other cancers are caused by smoking. Because the smoke contains a number of very toxic substances, of which especially the toxic polycyclic hydrocarbons are scientifically related to the development of bronchial carcinomas. For the toxicological substances to have a carcinogenic effect, they must be quasi-chemically activated by the organism. This activation creates a variety of compounds that have a negative effect on the genome and promote the development of carcinomas. Previous studies could not clarify how exactly the hydrocarbons produce harmful substances that damage the DNA.

Genetics are damaged after only 15 minutes
In the course of the study, the researchers gave a total of twelve volunteers specially prepared cigarettes, which the subjects subsequently smoked. Drugs contained polycyclic hydrocarbon „phenanthrene“. The scientists chemically labeled the substances beforehand, so that the path through the metabolism in the body becomes comprehensible. The subjects were medically examined before and after consumption. At regular intervals, the participants each ten milliliters of blood were taken.

Upon completion of the study, the researchers found in the blood of the participants a toxic substance that results from the chemical transformation of phenanthrene. This substance is considered carcinogenic and is significantly responsible for the development of tissue mutations. What was new, however, was that after about 15 to 20 minutes after cigarette consumption, this chemical compound becomes detectable in high concentrations in the blood. This damaging effect even occurs as quickly as if you were injecting the deadly substance directly into the bloodstream of a human. This means that even the first glowing stigma damages the DNA and the effect does not occur after years of consumption. The scientists concluded that it has now been proven that even a single cigarette can be enough to cause cancer. This is a warning for everyone to start with cigarette smoking at all, said study director Hecht. The study results are in the US Science Magazine „Chemical Research in Toxicology“ appeared. (Sb)

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