Vaping may have tumor-causing effects, say UP scientists

Molecular biologists from the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) have found more evidence suggesting that vaping may have tumorigenic effects, or simply put, it could contribute to the creation of tumors in the body.

According to the UP College of Science’s website, scientists Daniel Angelo Mirador, Jose Lorenzo Ferrer, Kim Denyse Hao Lin, and Dr. Reynaldo Garcia from the university’s College of Science’s National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology investigated how vaping could impact cancer-related cellular processes.

They focused on a molecule often associated in vapes: the lncRNA transcript 1 (VALT1). The said molecule is found to be elevated among vape users — and certain lung cancer tumors.

In an earlier study, the researchers explained that the lncRNA transcript 1 ensures the survival of cancer cells that were damaged by cigarette smoke.

“It does so by detoxifying cells of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that would otherwise lead to cell death. This creates a paradox: instead of dying, the damaged cells persist, which can promote cancer development—creating a kind of double jeopardy,” Garcia said.

“The motivation for this study was to ask whether a similar mechanism also occurs with vaping: can vape exposure trigger changes in cells that, like cigarette smoke, allow damaged cells to survive?” he added.

The group of molecular biologists was able to demonstrate that there was a similar pattern for vaping.

Vaping increases exposure to VALT1 while also enhancing cell proliferation, resistance to programmed cell death, cell migration, ROS detoxification, cytoskeletal disorganization, and nuclear remodeling.

The VALT1 could also promote the survival of cells under cytotoxic stress, which is cellular distress caused by harmful agents.

“This provides evidence that vaping is not safe, and that its harmful effects are mediated, at least partly, by VALT1. Our cells assume tumorigenic properties upon exposure to e-cigarettes,” Mirador said.

The team, however, said that it would take decades to fully understand the long-term effects of e-cigarettes, including their contribution to cancer. The process in which cells can turn cancerous for lungs has a long latency period while e-cigarettes have not been around for too long, the scientists said. — BAP, GMA News