Philip Lazarus
University at Buffalo, NY·Public Health & Epidemiology
Why do some smokers develop lung cancer while others do not? Part of the answer may be how each person's body processes the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco.
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Pharmacology
Genetics
- Topics
lung cancer
tobacco carcinogens
tobacco-specific nitrosamines
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Nov 2027
What they work on
- Test whether levels or ratios of urinary NNAL enantiomers and their glucuronides predict lung cancer risk in Chinese smokers from three prospective cohorts in Shanghai and Singapore.
- Evaluate the same urinary NNAL markers as predictors of lung cancer risk in White and Black smokers from the Southern Community Cohort Study.
- Screen for and validate genetic variants, including the UGT2B17 enzyme gene, that explain differences between smokers in how they form and eliminate NNAL enantiomers and glucuronides.
More about the research
One major culprit is NNK, a nitrosamine found specifically in tobacco. The body converts NNK into NNAL, a compound that can go on to cause cancer. NNAL comes in two mirror-image forms, called enantiomers: (R)-NNAL and (S)-NNAL. Both forms are detoxified by glucuronidation, which attaches a sugar-like group so the compound can be excreted in urine.
Why it matters
Lung cancer kills many smokers, but only some smokers develop it. Stable urinary biomarkers and genetic markers, such as the NNAL-glucuronide ratio and UGT2B17 deletion status, could help identify smokers at highest risk. These markers could also guide the development of chemoprevention strategies that target how the body processes NNK.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
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Andre Miguel
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The school
University at Buffalo: 32 labs on PI Pages, $542M a year on research, 316 research doctorates a year.
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