Scientists from Oklahoma State University found that second-hand smoke can halve the effectiveness of chemotherapy for head and neck cancer. Research results published In International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS).
In a laboratory study, scientists exposed cancer cells in special dishes to 48 hours of simulated secondhand smoke exposure. Passive smoking is the process of inhaling side or second-hand tobacco smoke together with the air by people close to the smoker. It was noted that cells obtained from the structures of cancerous tumors in the head and neck were used for the experiment.
At the same time as exposure to tobacco smoke, the cells were treated with cisplatin, a drug commonly used in head and neck cancer chemotherapy. The results showed that twice as much drug was required to kill the cells. Additionally, the ability of cancer cells that remained intact after chemotherapy to proliferate uncontrollably increased significantly.
Scientists noted that passive smoking not only reduces the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment by half, but also increases the risk of cancer recurrence. They explained that passive smoking alters the expression of various proteins involved in drug resistance. In particular, exposure to tobacco smoke interferes with the penetration of cisplatin through the membranes of cancer cells, which reduces the ability of active anti-cancer substances to destroy cells from the inside.
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