Lung cancer in a smoker may be different from lung cancer in a nonsmoker

Why does lung cancer sometimes take the lives of people who have never smoked? People like Dana Reeve, the wife of late actor Christopher Reeve and actress who died of the disease in 2006 at age 44? One possible explanation is that lung cancer in smokers may constitute a different disease than that found in nonsmokers.

In research presented Tuesday, scientists found that the DNA alterations found in the genetic code of tumors in smokers differed from that found in people who never smoked and developed lung cancer. Researchers from the BC Cancer Research Center in Vancouver, Canada, studied the biology of lung cancer in 30 patients who never smoked and in 53 patients who were current or former smokers. The tumors of people who had never smoked had more genetic instability, suggesting that these tumors develop through different biological pathways than those caused by smoking. Understanding the molecular pathways by which tumors develop should help researchers develop more effective therapies.

The research was presented at the American Assn. for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention conference in Philadelphia.

Related: CT scans of smokers can reduce lung cancer deaths by 20%, study reports.

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