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Female Smokers More Susceptible to Tobacco Carcinogens than Men: Presented at WCLC

By Charlene Laino

VANCOUVER, BC -- August 20, 2003 -- Female patients who smoke are more prone to develop lung cancer than their male counterparts, a new study confirms.

Shinichi Toyooka, MD, department of surgery, Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital, Takamatsu, Japan, presented the findings here on August 11^th at the 10^th World Conference on Lung Cancer.

Using the International Agency for Research on Cancer's tumor suppressor gene database, the researchers analyzed 1,775 lung cancer cases for mutations of the TP53 suppressor gene. Specifically, they looked for mutations characterized by an excess of G:C to T:A transversions, which are thought to be characteristic of smoking-related cancers.

They found that G:C to T:A transversions were present in 26% of male smokers who developed any type of lung cancer, compared with 37% of female smokers who developed lung cancer. Also, such transversions were found in 31% of males who developed lung cancer despite a history of never smoking, compared with 12% of such females, the study showed.

Dr. Toyooka said the study shows for the first time that cancers in female smokers have significantly more tobacco-related mutations. The finding may help to explain the greater susceptibility of women to tobacco carcinogens, he added.

"This study is one of several presented at the meeting showing why women are more susceptible to tobacco smoke," said Stephen Lam, MD, Chair of the Lung Tumor Group, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada, a cosponsor of the meeting. "Women are more genetically prone to damage and then there is less repair of damage, once the damage is done."

Also, hormones may play a role in explaining why female smokers are more prone to developing lung cancer, Dr. Lam said, as estrogen makes cells more likely to proliferate.


[Study title: Influence of gender on tobacco exposure related TP53 gene mutations in lung cancer: Analysis of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) data base. Abstract O-81]

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