E-cigarettes can cause DNA changes associated with cancer

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Electronic cigarette users experience DNA changes in oral epithelial cells similar to those caused by conventional tobacco in smokers and which have been associated with a higher risk of developing cancer, especially lung cancer.

Electronic cigarettes offer an alternative to traditional tobacco and their popularity has grown rapidly in many countries, but their use as an aid to quit smoking continues to generate debate and numerous scientific works have shown that they have health risks. Now, a new study led by researchers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Innsbruck has revealed that e-cigarette users with a limited smoking history experience DNA changes similar to those of smokers in certain cells of the cheeks.

This study represents progress in the effort to better understand the long-term health effects of e-cigarette use. Their results have been published in the journal Cancer Research and, although they do not establish a direct relationship between vaping and cancer, it is crucial to conduct long-term research to determine whether the use of e-cigarettes is harmful and, if so, which ones. are those harmful effects.

The research examined the epigenetic effects of tobacco and e-cigarettes on DNA methylation in more than 3,500 samples. The objective was to study the impact on cells directly exposed to tobacco (such as those in the mouth) and on those not directly exposed (such as those in the blood or cervical cells). The epigenome is an additional layer of information that is superimposed on our genetic material, DNA. If DNA is the ‘hardware’ of a computer, epigenetics would be the ‘software’, determining how, where and when programs are executed.

Epigenomes change throughout our lives and can be influenced by genetic and non-genetic factors, including aging, lifestyle, exposure to hormones, chemicals, environmental factors, and even stress and psychological trauma. A commonly studied type of epigenetic modification is DNA methylation.

The researchers found that epithelial cells (which typically line organs and are often the source of many cancers) in the mouth showed significant epigenomic changes in smokers. These changes are even more pronounced in lung cancers or pre-cancers, compared to normal lung tissue, supporting the idea that epigenetic changes associated with smoking accelerate cell growth. The study also reveals new data, showing similar epigenomic changes in cells from e-cigarette users who had smoked fewer than 100 tobacco cigarettes in their lives.

Impact of electronic cigarettes on long-term health

Dr Chiara Herzog, lead author of the study, commented: “This is the first study to investigate the impact of smoking and vaping on different cell types, not just blood, and we have attempted to consider the long-term implications for the health of electronic cigarette use.

“We cannot say that e-cigarettes cause cancer based on our study, but we observed that e-cigarette users have some similar epigenetic changes in buccal cells to smokers, and these changes are associated with the future development of lung cancer in smokers. “Further studies will be needed to investigate whether these characteristics could be used to individually predict cancer in smokers and e-cigarette users.”

“Although the scientific consensus is that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking tobacco, we cannot assume they are completely safe and it is important to explore their potential long-term risks and links to cancer. “We hope this study contributes to a broader debate about e-cigarette use, especially in people who have never smoked tobacco before.”

“E-cigarette users present some similar epigenetic changes in oral cells to smokers, and these changes are associated with the future development of lung cancer in smokers”

Through their computational analysis of the samples, the researchers also found that some smoking-related epigenetic changes remain more stable than others after quitting smoking, including smoking-related epigenetic changes in cervical samples, something that had not been previously studied. .

Professor Martin Widschwendter, senior author of the study, said: “The epigenome allows us to look back and understand how our body responded to previous environmental exposures such as smoking. Likewise, exploring the epigenome can also help us predict future health and diseases. “The changes seen in lung cancer tissue can also be measured in cheek cells from smokers who have not yet developed cancer.”

“Importantly, our research indicates that e-cigarette users exhibit the same changes, and these devices may not be as harmless as originally thought. Long-term studies on e-cigarettes are needed. “We are grateful for the support that the European Commission has provided to obtain this data,” he adds.

Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “This study contributes to our understanding of e-cigarettes, but does not prove that they cause cancer. Decades of research have tested the link between smoking and cancer, and studies so far have shown that e-cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking and can help people kick the habit. However, this paper highlights that e-cigarettes are not risk-free, so we need additional studies to uncover their potential long-term impacts on human health.”

In the opinion of Josep Maria Suelves, Head of the Smoking and Injury Prevention and Control Service at the Public Health Agency of Catalonia and member of the Board of Directors of the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking: “Although more research is needed complement the results of this observational study, these new findings show possible carcinogenic effects of electronic cigarettes and complement a recent review that showed that their continued use is associated with an increase in cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disease similar to that caused by conventional cigarettes, since a substantial increase in respiratory and oral pathologies, somewhat lower than that observed among those who smoke exclusively tobacco. It has also been seen that the health damage associated with the dual use of electronic and conventional cigarettes is even greater than that caused by the use of each of these products separately,” he told SMC Spain.

“The accumulated evidence in relation to the effects of the use of electronic cigarettes on health justifies the convenience of reinforcing the control of their advertising, sale and consumption, in order to protect young people and adolescents, their main users. Electronic cigarettes are not a safe tool to quit smoking or reduce the risks of tobacco use,” she concludes.

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