The Latest Research on DNA Damage and Repair and Cancer Many researchers have looked at the relationship between DNA damage and repair and cancer.
Some cancers result from uncorrected gene mutations, some of which are inherited.
Some cancer may be the result of inadequate DNA repair. Researchers in Texas have linked a reduction in DNA repair capacity to lung cancer. They found that smokers with lung cancer have a DNA repair capacity five times lower than healthy controls. For example, patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, an inherited disorder resulting in reduced DNA repair, have a predisposition to skin cancer. One group of Italian researchers has suggested that DNA damage from outside toxins will cause either cancer or chronic disease, depending on what cells it affects.