Blood test could identify smokers most at risk of cancer

By Geoff Michaels, May 8th, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

Some smokers have a low level of a DNA repair enzyme, which puts them at high risk of lung cancer.
Although smoking is the major risk factor for developing lung cancer, only ten per cent of heavy smokers actually get cancer, suggesting that other factors are involved. A team at the Weizmann Institute in Israel has been focusing upon the activity of a DNA repair enzyme called OGG1.

They find that smokers with low levels of this enzyme are five times more likely to get cancer than smokers who have normal levels. And they are 120 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers with normal levels of OGG1. It may be that a blood test for OGG1 levels could pinpoint those smokers most at risk and this may help motivate them to quit. If DNA damage is not repaired by the normal enzyme mechanism, then the scene is set for a cancer to develop. So the DNA repair enzymes are a vital part of the body’s armoury against cancer.