Smoking Primes Lung Cells for Cancer, New Study Finds
Researchers studied how long-term smoke exposure changes lung stem cells. Smoke weakened the cells' safety mechanisms and local immune defences, creating a precancerous state. Common KRAS and TP53 mutations triggered tumours only in smoke-exposed tissue, showing how smoking prepares cells for cancer.
Context
Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide and smoking is its best-known cause. Studies like this show the steps by which damage builds up over years, before any tumour appears.
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