A recent study has revealed that vaping causes the same DNA changes in human cells as smoking, with these associated with the future development of lung cancer in smokers.
The study, published in the Cancer Research journal, analyzed DNA changes in cheek cell samples taken from over 3,500 users of vaping devices or electronic cigarettes, including individuals with limited tobacco smoking history.
«We cannot say that e-cigarettes cause cancer based on our study, but we do observe e-cigarette users exhibit some similar epigenetic changes in buccal cells as smokers, and these changes are associated with future lung cancer development in smokers,” said Chiara Herzog, the author of the study from University College London, and University of Innsbruck in Austria.
Herzog emphasized the need for further research to determine whether these features could be used to individually predict cancer in smokers and e-cigarette users.
Specifically, the study examined the effects of e-cigarettes and tobacco on human cells by studying a type of epigenetic change in samples called DNA methylation.
The epigenome refers to an extra layer of information that is superimposed on human genetic material, the DNA.
Epigenomes change throughout a person’s life and can be influenced by various factors, both genetic and non-genetic, such as aging, lifestyle, exposure to hormones, chemicals, environmental factors, stress, and psychological trauma.
The study found that oral epithelial cells showed substantial epigenomic changes in smokers, which are further elevated in lung cancers or pre-cancers compared to the normal lung tissue, supporting the idea that smoking-associated epigenetic changes allow cells to grow more quickly.
Similar epigenomic changes were observed in the cells of e-cigarette users who had smoked fewer than 100 tobacco cigarettes in their lifetime.
«While the scientific consensus is that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking tobacco, we cannot assume they are completely safe to use and it is important to explore their potential long-term risks and links to cancer,” Herzog said.
The researchers also found that some smoking-related epigenetic changes remain more stable than others after giving up smoking, including such changes in cervical cells.
The epigenome reflects how the human body responded to past environmental exposures like smoking and enables scientists to predict future health outcomes and disease, said Martin Widschwendter, another author of the study.
