Lung cancer remains a major health challenge in the world. It is the commonest cause of
cancer mortality in men, it has been suggested that
genetic susceptibility may contribute to the major risk factor, with increasing prevalence of smoking.
Lung cancer has reached epidemic proportions in India. Recently indoor air pollution and dietary factors have been implicated in the causation of
lung Cancer development. Accumulating evidences have highlighted that several polymorphisms involve the metabolic activation or detoxification of
carcinogens derived from cigarette
smoke have been found to be associated with
lung cancer risk. Many studies have focused on the relation between the distribution of polymorphic variants of different forms of the metabolic
enzymes and
lung cancer susceptibility, Few of human biotransformating
enzymes (Phase I
enzyme:
Cytochrome p450 enzymes, and Phase II
enzymes:
Glutathione-s-
transferases, N-
acetyltransferases) have been implicated in the formation and scavenging of ultimate reactive metabolites. These
enzyme families are known to catalyze detoxification of electrophilic compounds including
carcinogens. The treatment and prevention of
lung cancer are major unmet needs that can probably be improved by a better understanding of the molecular origins and evolution of the disease. This review will focus on major recent advances in the molecular study of the origins and biology of
lung cancer.