Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, but up to 15 percent of sufferers have never smoked. Sadly, there are around
10,000 new cases of lung cancer in Australia each year and 8,000 deaths.
Most lung cancer is found too late for effective treatment. For people who are not smokers, it’s particularly worrying as they have no reason to suspect they have lung cancer.
Professor Kwun Fong is an internationally respected lung cancer specialist and researcher. He heads a team looking for genes that might cause lung cancer in people who have never smoked. His researchers compared cancer cells from smokers and non-smokers, looking for key differences in the DNA.
This research group contributes to the global Cancer Genome Atlas.
Outcome:
The researchers found differences in the genetic mutations within lung cancer in smokers and never smokers. This opened the door for more detailed investigation into the specific genes related to lung cancer development.
Benefit:
Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the world. If the team can identify the gene mutations, they hope to find ways to screen patients (particularly non smokers)to identify those at risk.
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