BEIJING, Jan. 27(Xinhuanet) -- For smokers, race may play a role in their likelihood of developing lung cancer.
Blacks smokers are more likely than whites and others to develop lung cancer, study found.
Even when they smoke the same amount, blacks are more likely than whites and others to develop lung cancer, suggesting genes might help explain the racial differences long seen in the disease.
Researchers from USC and the University of Hawaii analyzed lung cancer cases during an eight-year period. The study involved more than 180,000 people, more than half of them minorities.
The study found that blacks and Hawaiians are about 55 percent more likely than whites to develop lung cancer from light to moderate smoking. Japanese Americans and Latinos are about 50 percent less likely than whites.
The racial gap, according to the study, was particularly evident among subjects who smoked 10 or fewer cigarettes per day. However, the differences disappeared among heavy smokers -- those who smoke more than three packs a day.
Doctors have long known that black smokers are substantially more likely than white smokers to develop lung cancer and die of it. But the size and sophistication of the study published in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine make it the most convincing to date.
Although the study did not address the possible reasons for the racial disparity, lead researcher Christopher Haiman, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, said the findings suggest genes might be one of the factors. Enditem
(Agencies)
|
