To evaluate the effect of cigarette smoking on oxidative stress in lung tissues, we compared the levels of a type of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), in tissue obtained from the central sites of lungs from 14 current smokers, seven ex-smokers and nine non-smokers. The mean level of 8-OH-dG in the lung tissues from smokers was 1.43-fold higher than that of the non-smokers (the difference was statistically significant, P = 0.0262). A positive correlation between the 8-OH-dG levels in normal lung tissues and the Brinkman index was obtained from smokers and ex-smokers (r = 0.525; P = 0.0134). A positive correlation was also obtained for the 8-OH-dG levels in normal lung tissues and the number of cigarettes smoked per day (r = 0.436; P = 0.0132). These results suggest that oxidative DNA damage is induced in lung DNA by cigarette smoking.

Psychological stress and perceived over-work appear to be related to the pathogenesis of cancer via the formation of 8-OH-dG, particularly in female workers.

No abstract

Although numerous studies have been carried out on the stress‐cancer linkage, the results are still inconclusive. One of the useful, but rarely applied, methods to assess this linkage is to examine the relationship between psychosocial stress and cancer‐predisposing genetic alterations simultaneously. We investigated whether various psychosocial factors can be associated with the levels of 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8‐OH‐dG), a biomarker of cancer‐related oxidative DNA damage, in peripheral blood leukocytes in 362 healthy workers (276 males and 86 females). After adjustments for age, body mass index, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use, female subjects showed positive relationships between the amount of 8‐OH‐dG and the Tension‐Anxiety, Depression‐Rejection, Anger‐Hostility, Fatigue, and Confusion scores of the Profile of Mood States, respectively. The levels of 8‐OH‐dG also increased reliably in the female subjects who had poor stress‐coping behaviors, particularly wishful thinking strategy, in the NIOSH general job stress instrument. There were positive relationships of the 8‐OH‐dG levels to average working hours, a self‐blame coping strategy, and recent loss of a close family member in male subjects. These findings in a nonclinical sample of healthy adults not only provide evidence of a stress‐cancer linkage, but also suggest possible sex differences in the mechanisms of stress‐related cancer initiation.

For reconstruction of the esophagus, the colonic interposition and supercharge technique is advantageous and contributes to the patient's quality of life.