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Updated: Jul 3, 2026
10:47
Isolation of Mouse Respiratory Epithelial Cells and Exposure to Experimental Cigarette Smoke at Air Liquid Interface
Published on: February 21, 2011
Second-hand smoke and human lung cancer
Ahmad Besaratinia1, Gerd P Pfeifer
1Division of Biology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA. ania@coh.org
The Lancet. Oncology
|July 5, 2008
Summary
Second-hand smoke (SHS) is a lung cancer risk, but its precise impact is debated. This review explores SHS
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Toxicology
- Public Health
Background:
- Growing concerns regarding the health impacts of second-hand smoke (SHS) have persisted since the early 1980s.
- While SHS is recognized as a lung cancer risk factor, the magnitude of this risk remains debated due to complexities in exposure assessment.
- Human exposure to SHS is challenging to quantify due to temporal variations in its source, composition, and concentration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the causal effect of SHS in lung carcinogenesis.
- To highlight the importance of assessing chronic SHS exposure on an individual basis for understanding lung cancer development.
- To review hypothetical modes of action for SHS-induced carcinogenesis, including genotoxic and epigenetic effects.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing research on SHS and lung cancer.
- Focus on hypothetical mechanisms of SHS carcinogenicity.
- Discussion of the need for reliable biological markers for SHS exposure assessment.
Main Results:
- Conventional SHS exposure assessments often rely on limited, short-term measurements.
- Biological markers offer a more reliable approach to assess chronic SHS exposure and its link to lung cancer.
- Understanding the genotoxic and epigenetic mechanisms of SHS is crucial for elucidating its role in lung carcinogenesis.
Conclusions:
- Accurate assessment of chronic individual SHS exposure is vital for understanding its role in lung cancer.
- Biological markers are needed to overcome the limitations of conventional SHS exposure assessment methods.
- Further research into the genotoxic and epigenetic effects of SHS is warranted to clarify its carcinogenic potential.
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