Quitting smoking is like going back in time. According to a new British study, when a person stops smoking, the cells in his lungs damaged by tobacco are gradually replaced by healthy cells. The risk of developing cancer would be greatly reduced.
For the purposes of this study, coordinated by the Wellcome Sanger Institute at University College London, the scientists analyzed the lung biopsies of sixteen individuals from different groups: smokers, ex-smokers and never smokers.
Published in the journal Nature, the results show that nine out of ten lung cells had undergone carcinogenic mutations in the volunteers in the smoking sample.
In contrast, among those who had quit smoking, some of the damaged cells had been replaced with healthy cells similar to those seen in people who had never smoked. These subjects also had four times more healthy lung cells than those continuing to smoke.
As the sample studied is relatively small, other similar studies should soon be launched to confirm these very encouraging initial results.
Mucosal reconstruction
How is this replacement explained? The process is not yet fully understood by scientists, but early hypotheses suggest that there is a reservoir of healthy cells ready to replenish the lining of the airways.
“Once the person has stopped smoking, the cells gradually proliferate in the area to replace the damaged cells, said the study’s lead author, Peter Campbell. [L’étude] shows that it’s never too late to stop. ”
The research team nevertheless warned of the deeper permanent damage caused by smoke in the lungs. These can lead to chronic lung disease and eventually lead to death.
In France, tobacco is responsible for one death in eight, indicates the French public health agency – that is 75,320 deaths out of the 580,000 registered in 2015. The main causes of death linked to smoking are cancers, in 61.7% of case, before cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
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