UC studies tobacco use, cancer connection
Research shows tobacco use changes metabolism of kidney cancer, may lead to targeted treatments
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have identified new clues into ways tobacco use impacts patients with kidney cancer.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, provides the first steps in developing personalized treatments for patients with this type of cancer.
Expanding on previous work that identified the mutations of kidney cancer cells, this study reveals metabolic fingerprints that distinguish cancers from nonsmokers compared to smokers.
Maria Czyzyk-Krzeska, MD, PhD, professor in the UC Department of Cancer Biology, who studies kidney cancer within the UC Cancer Center. Photo credit/UC Creative + Brand
“Standard analysis of mutations may not have detected the effects of tobacco smoking in kidney cancer, so these results and this study provides important steps toward new and better therapeutic strategies for kidney cancers in both smoking and nonsmoking populations,” says Maria Czyzyk-Krzeska, MD, PhD, professor in the UC Department of Cancer Biology.
The disease studied, called “clear cell renal cell carcinoma,” is the most common type of kidney cancer, but there are few chemotherapy options for advanced cancers, she says.
A multidisciplinary team of UC researchers led by Czyzyk-Krzeska in Cancer Biology, Jarek Meller, PhD, in Environmental and Public Health Sciences, and Julio Landero Figueroa, PhD, in Chemistry, analyzed tissues of patients who were tobacco users as well as those who were not, uncovering the widespread effects of smoking in this form of kidney cancer.
“Importantly, this integrated approach was key to identifying the major metabolic reprogramming in energy and biosynthesis, associated with the presence of cadmium and inorganic arsenic found in cigarettes, together with a distinct signature of copper in tumors from tobacco smokers,” says Maria Czyzyk-Krzeska.
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer. Photo credit/Wikipedia
The data show that tumors from longtime smokers represent a separate metabolic subtype of kidney cancer with different weaknesses and which could require a dedicated treatment strategy.
“There is a need for an in-depth analysis of metabolic subtypes of these cancers to establish the best way to treat each individual tumor,” she says. “This is one of the earliest studies to establish that this type of analysis is necessary. Personalized, or precision medicine, has the promise of offering a specific and unique therapy based on the molecular landscape of each patient’s cancer.
“This has huge potential to change outcomes for patients, leading to better and longer lives.”
Featured photo of cigarette use courtesy of Unsplash.
Next Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research 1 institution by the Carnegie Commission and is ranked in the National Science Foundation's Top-35 public research universities. UC's graduate students and faculty investigate problems and innovate solutions with real-world impact. Next Lives Here.
Co-authors on this study include James Reigle, co-first author, Dina Secic, Collin Wetzel, David Plas, John “Tom” Cunningham, Nicholas Talbot, Megan Bischoff, Yongzhen Zhang, Yuanwei Zang, Johnson Chu, UC Department of Cancer Biology; Jarek Meller, Mario Medvedovic, Jacek Biesiada, Behrouz Shamsaei and Xiang Zhang, UC Department of Environmental Public Health Sciences; Julio Landero Figueroa, UC Department of Chemistry; Charuhas Thakar, UC Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology; Krishnanath Gaitonde and Abhinav Sidana, UC Department of Surgery, Division of Urology; Hai Bui, Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs; Qing Zhang, UNC at Chapel Hill Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; and Laura Schmidt and W. Marston Linehan, National Cancer Institute. UC oncologist Shuchi Gulati is a clinical partner on the team.
Czyzyk-Krzeska cites no conflict of interest.
Related Stories
Game-changers shape tech through Esports
May 15, 2025
High-profile employers packed UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub on May 6 to identify talent through Esports and connect them with job openings.
Hoxworth Co-Director David Oh, MD, named to America's Blood...
May 14, 2025
Hoxworth Blood Center, University of Cincinnati, is proud to announce that David Oh, MD, interim co-director and chief medical officer, has been appointed to America’s Blood Centers (ABC) Board of Directors.
Osher Center, Cancer Center partnership receives $2 million gift...
May 14, 2025
The Cincinnati Business Courier highlighted a $2 million gift from John and Carrie Hayden to establish and endow a community learning kitchen that emphasizes the vital role of nutrition not only in the prevention but also the treatment of chronic disease.