Carcinogens leave ‘fingerprints’ in tumour DNA, study shows
Through research into the genetic material of a cancerous tumour, scientists will be able to determine what triggered its formation
In a breakthrough in cancer research, scientists have discovered that the cause of cancer is written into the DNA of tumours. This research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell earlier in April 2019, will not only make it possible to pinpoint the exact environmental culprit and the extent to which certain carcinogens contribute to cancer, it may also reveal causes of cancer unknown before. Previously, the extent to which factors such as air pollution, pesticides or even cigarette smoke were to blame for the development of cancer has been unknown and the exact roots of cancer have proven to be elusive. For example, scientists have been unable to determine the exact extent to which lung cancer could be attributed to smoking and if the disease might be linked to other factors such as air pollution. Scientists at Cambridge University and King’s College London exposed human stem cells to a combination of 77 chemical carcinogens and therapeutic agents, two sources of radiation a...
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