Vanishing Y Chromosomes

A new study reveals an association between smoking and rates of Y chromosome loss in blood cells, which may explain elevated cancer risk among male smokers.

| 3 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
3:00
Share

FLICKR, ROMAN PAVLYUK

Decades of epidemiological data demonstrate that men have higher overall cancer rates than women. This difference in risk is more than four-fold for some types of cancer, but the reasons for the disparity remain mostly mysterious.

In an investigation of blood samples from more than 1,000 men, scientists at Uppsala University in Sweden and their colleagues found that those with higher rates of chromosome Y loss tended to die younger and were more susceptible to a variety of cancers. Now, some of the same researchers have shown that smoking behavior is strongly linked to the loss of the Y chromosome—a relatively common occurrence. The results, reported today (December 4) in Science, suggest a mechanism for the increased risk of many cancers observed in male smokers ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Molly Sharlach

    This person does not yet have a bio.
Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio