These and other findings published in the study show that low OGG1 activity results in high susceptibility to cancer: 5-10 times more than those whose OGG1 activity is normal. Smoking increases this risk, since it causes more damage for DNA repair enzymes, including OGG1, to fix. Smokers who have a low level of OGG1 activity were found to have the greatest risk of lung cancer, as much as 120 higher than non-smokers with regular levels of OGG1 activity.
These findings suggest that a substantial portion of lung cancer cases might result from a combination of smoking and reduced OGG1 activity.
If so, then screening smokers for low OGG1 activity will help them make more informed decisions to stop smoking. Of course, even smokers with normal OGG1 activity are at a greater risk of getting lung cancer than the general population and the blood test will not ensure that they don't get the disease. In addition, smoking causes other types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, whose relation to OGG1 activity is still unknown.
The Weizmann team also included Dr. Sara Blumenstein and Dalia Elinger. Statistical analysis was conducted by Dr. Edna Schechtman from Ben-Gurion University.
Prof. Zvi Livneh's research is supported by the Dolfi and Lola Ebner Center for BiomedicalResearch, the Levine Institute of Applied Science and the M.D. Moross Institute for Cancer Research.
Prof. Livneh is the incumbent of the Maxwell Ellis Professorial Chair in Biomedical Research.
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Contact: Alex Smith
Alex_smith@margeotes.com
212-460-0563
American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
2-Sep-2003