Gene Differences in Non-Smokers with Lung Cancer

Three separate genetic regions have been identified for those that have an increased risk of lung cancer for nonsmokers. This particular study focused on Asian women. Researchers analyzed data from 14 different studies that totaled about 14,000 Asian women. The researchers were able to identify three different genetic markers that were associated with Asian women who had never smoked. Two were found to be located on chromosome 6 and one on chromosome 10. This last marker was the most interesting of the three because previous research has not indicated this particular chromosome.



The study's co-author Dr. Nathaniel Rothman said, "Our study provides strong evidence that common inherited genetic variants contribute to an increased risk of lung cancer among Asian women who have never smoked." Another surprising part of this study was that the researchers did not find an association between the lung cancer risk and variations at a location on chromosome 15. This particular chromosome has been linked to a lung cancer risk in smokers. Therefore, this proves that the genetic variation in chromosome 15 may be related to actually smoking.More research will need to be conducted to show whether Asian women in particular are more prone to the effects of secondhand smoke. Overall, I found this information to be very useful. I would be interested to see whether or not other genetic markers could be identified for other populations.