Of the 47,000 lung cancer cases reported in the UK every year, some 72 per cent are believed to be the result of smoking
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Getty Images/iStockphoto
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People who have smoked heavily throughout life can still dramatically cut their risk of lung cancer by quitting, a study has claimed with scientists claiming the finding offers hope to long-term smokers.
The study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and University College London found that compared to current smokers, people who had quit had more “genetically healthy” lung cells – with the organ growing new healthy cells to replenish the lining of their airways.
The cells in turn were less likely to develop into cancer in the future.
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“People who have smoked heavily for 30, 40 or more years often say to me that it's too late to stop smoking - the damage is already done,” Dr Peter Campbell, from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and senior author on the study, said.
"What is so exciting about our study is that it shows that it's never too late to quit - some of the people in our study had smoked more than 15,000 packs of cigarettes over their life, but within a few years of quitting many of the cells lining their airways showed no evidence of damage from tobacco."
Smoking ads throughout the years
Show all 18
Smoking ads throughout the years
1/18
A 1929 advert for Chesterfield cigarettes that featured in Cosmopolitan magazine
2/18
A 1900 advert for Ogden's Guinea - Gold Cigarettes that featured in the Illustrated London News
Getty
3/18
A 1918 advert for Strand cigarettes that featured in Bruno's Bohemia
Anton Raath
4/18
A 1939 newspaper advert for Piccadilly cigarettes
Wellcome Library
5/18
A 1941 advert for Camel cigarettes featuring baseball player Joe DiMaggio
6/18
A 1929 advert for Chesterfield cigarettes that featured in Cosmopolitan magazine in the US
7/18
A 1952 advert for Craven 'A' cigarettes featuring England footballer Stanley Matthews
Science Museum
8/18
A 1950 advert for Chesterfield cigarettes featuring baseball player Bub McMillan
9/18
A 1930 advert for Old Gold cigarettes that featured in Motion Picture magazine in the US
10/18
A 1931 advert for Lucky Strike cigarettes that featured in the Literary Digest
Rex
11/18
A 1952 advert for Player's Navy Cut cigarettes that featured in the Picture Post
Getty
12/18
A 1952 advert for cigarettes with the Du Maurier filter that featured in the Picture Post
Getty
13/18
A 1974 Health Education Council poster warning against the danger of smoking whilst pregnant
Getty
14/18
One of four posters from a 1998 campaign warning teenagers that smoking causes damage to the heart and lungs from the first cigarette
PA
15/18
One of four posters from a 1998 campaign warning teenagers that smoking causes damage to the heart and lungs from the first cigarette
PA
16/18
One of four posters from a 1998 campaign warning teenagers that smoking causes damage to the heart and lungs from the first cigarette
PA
17/18
A poster from a 1999 campaign from the Health Education Authority urging women not to smoke whilst pregnant
PA
18/18
Steve Plumb, 40, from Peterborough, stands next to a 2003 poster issued by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) warning of the dangers that smoking cigarettes can have on the heart
PA
1/18
A 1929 advert for Chesterfield cigarettes that featured in Cosmopolitan magazine
2/18
A 1900 advert for Ogden's Guinea - Gold Cigarettes that featured in the Illustrated London News
Getty
3/18
A 1918 advert for Strand cigarettes that featured in Bruno's Bohemia
Anton Raath
4/18
A 1939 newspaper advert for Piccadilly cigarettes
Wellcome Library
5/18
A 1941 advert for Camel cigarettes featuring baseball player Joe DiMaggio
6/18
A 1929 advert for Chesterfield cigarettes that featured in Cosmopolitan magazine in the US
7/18
A 1952 advert for Craven 'A' cigarettes featuring England footballer Stanley Matthews
Science Museum
8/18
A 1950 advert for Chesterfield cigarettes featuring baseball player Bub McMillan
9/18
A 1930 advert for Old Gold cigarettes that featured in Motion Picture magazine in the US
10/18
A 1931 advert for Lucky Strike cigarettes that featured in the Literary Digest
Rex
11/18
A 1952 advert for Player's Navy Cut cigarettes that featured in the Picture Post
Getty
12/18
A 1952 advert for cigarettes with the Du Maurier filter that featured in the Picture Post
Getty
13/18
A 1974 Health Education Council poster warning against the danger of smoking whilst pregnant
Getty
14/18
One of four posters from a 1998 campaign warning teenagers that smoking causes damage to the heart and lungs from the first cigarette
PA
15/18
One of four posters from a 1998 campaign warning teenagers that smoking causes damage to the heart and lungs from the first cigarette
PA
16/18
One of four posters from a 1998 campaign warning teenagers that smoking causes damage to the heart and lungs from the first cigarette
PA
17/18
A poster from a 1999 campaign from the Health Education Authority urging women not to smoke whilst pregnant
PA
18/18
Steve Plumb, 40, from Peterborough, stands next to a 2003 poster issued by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) warning of the dangers that smoking cigarettes can have on the heart
PA
Of the 47,000 lung cancer cases reported in the UK every year, some 72 per cent are believed to be the result of smoking – a rate that makes up 21 per cent of total cancer deaths, according to Cancer Research UK.
The study, published in the journal Nature, saw researchers analyse lung biopsies from 16 people – a group that included smokers, ex-smokers, those who had never smoked, and children.
The results showed that nine out of every 10 lung cells in current smokers had up to 10,000 additional genetic mutations as a direct result of tobacco related chemicals compared to non-smokers.
Meanwhile more than a quarter of those damaged cells had at least one cancer-driver mutation.
But in those who had quit smoking researchers discovered "a sizeable group of cells" lining the airways that had "escaped" genetic damage from cigarettes in the past.
Those cells were found to be on par with those who had never smoked, with ex-smokers retaining four times more healthy cells than their smoking counterparts.
However researchers warned the risk of permanent damage deeper in the lung that can lead to chronic lung disease still remains.
Dr Kate Gowers, joint first author from UCL, said that even the healthy lung cells that contain thousands of genetic mutations could be "mini time-bombs waiting for the next hit that causes them to progress to cancer".
She added: "Further research with larger numbers of people is needed to understand how cancer develops from these damaged lung cells."
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