Squamous cell cancers and cigarette smoke: a matter of exposure
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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Isolation of Mouse Respiratory Epithelial Cells and Exposure to Experimental Cigarette Smoke at Air Liquid Interface
Published on: February 21, 2011
1Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032.
Abstract:
Most of the malignancies associated with tobacco smoke are squamous cell cancers. Others have suggested that squamous cell epithelium has a particular predisposition to tobacco carcinogenesis. However, other malignancies besides squamous cell cancers also have been associated with cigarettes. I hypothesize that the key factor which predisposes an organ or tissue to carcinogenesis by cigarette smoke is exposure to smoke constituents, either directly or indirectly. Squamous cell epithelium has no special biological susceptibility to these carcinogens.
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