Smoking is associated with mosaic loss of chromosome Y

TLDR

Tobacco smoking is linked to increased cancer risk, yet its effects on genetic material remain unclear. The authors studied over 6,000 men to assess loss of the Y chromosome. The study found that smokers are more than three times as likely to lose the Y chromosome, raising concerns about its potential role in cancer, though causality remains unclear. Published in *Science*, p.

Abstract

Men beware, when smoke gets in your Y's The relationship between tobacco smoking and elevated cancer risk has been recognized for 60 years. Yet what smoking does to our genetic material is still not fully understood. New work suggests that men should be particularly concerned. In a study of over 6000 men, Dumanski et al. find that men who smoke are more than three times as likely as nonsmokers to show loss of the Y chromosome in their blood cells. Whether this is a causal factor in cancer development or simply a marker of more consequential damage on other chromosomes could not be deduced from the study. Science , this issue p. 81