Though exposure to tobacco and smoke is the dominant cause of lung cancer, the disease appears to have a genetic link to it.
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The researchers traced the genetic links by looking at 2,756 patients diagnosed with lung cancer and linked them with an genealogical database containing all living Icelanders and most of their ancestors since the settlement of the country.The nationwide genealogy database used in the study provided a means for uncovering the familial component by revealing more connections between patients, missed in most other populations.
While the higher risk in immediate families may be related to second-hand smoke as well as genetics, the higher risk found in persons outside the immediate family provides further evidence of a genetic link.
December 2004
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