Lung cancer, emphysema, nicotine-stained fingers and a hole in your pocketbook. There are several reasons not to smoke, and MSU researchers just added one more to the list.
James Trosko, along with a team of colleagues and students, recently published a study that linked smoking to pancreatic cancer. Research was collected for 37 years.
Trosko used adult pancreatic stem cells grown in a culture for his research. After realizing the stem cells were a target of cancer, he questioned what environmental or dietary chemicals could be contributing factors.
"We have known that adult pancreatic stem cells could become cancerous," the professor of pediatrics and human development said. "Pancreatic cancer is a real toughie; there is virtually no treatment for it."
After placing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, on the pancreatic stem cells, Trosko found the culprit.
PAH chemicals mainly are found in cigarettes, but Trosko said they also can be found in grilled meats and vegetables.
"We noticed that the chemicals induced the same biological effects as other well-known tumor promoters," he said, adding that PAHs don't initiate the cancer, but rather act as a catalyst once the cancer is present.
The research illuminated a glimmer of hope in the battle against the illness, Trosko said.
"The cause of cancer has many steps," he said. "Since the production process takes decades to occur, antioxidants might go a long way in reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer."
Since PAH chemicals are a promoter of the cancer, not an initiator, people who quit smoking still have a chance to reduce their risk, Trosko said.
"(The research) implies the process can be interrupted or even reversed," he said.
Word of the new link between cancer and smoking did not come as a shock to Matthew Moose.
The hospitality business senior said he doesn't smoke and never will.
"It's just a bad idea," he said. "The risk is already there, but people who smoke are going to smoke."
Still, the research might not change the opinions of student smokers.
Olin Health Educator Rebecca Allen said many students who smoke occasionally don't consider themselves smokers.
"How they view themselves will decide whether it alters their behavior," she said. "For people who don't see themselves at risk, this probably won't affect them. Every time you make an effort to quit, you are one step closer to success."
