Variations in a region on chromosome 15 containing genes for subunits of the nicotine receptor are associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, according to independent findings by authors of 3 newly published studies. However, the investigators disagreed on whether the link is direct or mediated through nicotine dependence.
Investigators at deCODE genetics, a biopharmaceutical company in Reykjavik, Iceland, discovered that variants in this gene cluster affect the number of cigarettes smoked daily by European smokers and are therefore also associated with risk of lung cancer and peripheral arterial disease (Thorgeirsson TE et al. Nature. 2008;452[7187]:638-642).
Two other studies, one by a team led by researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and the other led by scientists from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, found that the association between variants in this gene cluster and cancer was independent of smoking (Hung RJ et al. Nature. 2008;452[7187]:633-637; Amos CI et al. Nat Genet. 10.1038/ng.109 [published online April 2, 2008]).
Larger population studies that include measurements of smoking behavior and nicotine dependence will be needed to address the studies' contradictory findings.
Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature
Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal
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