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• Common gene boosts breast cancer risk in smokers  

Researchers have confirmed yet another ill effect of smoking cigarettes: it increases the risk of breast cancer in women with a common genetic variation.

The gene involved, N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2), is believed to help clear the body of aromatic amines, a major carcinogen in tobacco smoke. The researchers found that women with the slower-acting form of this gene -- who represent 50 percent to 60 percent of the white population and 35 percent to 40 percent of African-Americans -- are more likely to get breast cancer if they smoke.

But the study's lead author said the finding shouldn't motivate people to undergo; instead, she said, it should spur them to quit smoking. "We still know very little about what these genes do and how they might affect risk-we think the most important thing for people to do is to live a healthy lifestyle," Dr. Christine B. Ambrosone of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, told Reuters Health.

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