Protective cells in the lungs of ex-smokers could explain the previously known fact that quitting smoking significantly reduces the risk of developing lung cancer. Scientists have discovered that compared to people who continue to smoke, people who have stopped smoking have genetically much healthier lungs (with fewer accumulated mutations that can cause or promote cancer), and consequently a lower risk of disease. An important conclusion of the research is that quitting smoking is much more effective than stopping further lung damage; it allows new, healthy cells to replace damaged parts of the airway surface. It is believed that this more positive ratio of healthy and damaged cells could also be a protective factor against lung cancer.
The research also showed that more than 90% of lung cells in people who currently smoke have a whole series of genetic changes (mutations). Compared to the cells of non-smokers, there were up to 10,000 more of these mutations in the cells of smokers. At the same time, more than a quarter of the lung cells of smokers had at least 1 mutation that is directly associated with the onset of cancer, and it should be taken into account that the effect of many mutations is still insufficiently researched.
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