"Schizophrenia and it’s Protection against Lung Cancer: A Genetic Explanation"

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental health disorder that results in a profound burdon on the both the individual affected and the greater society [12]. Affected persons with the condition have a decreased life span by approximately 20-25 years [13]. Cancer is the second leading cause of death both globally and in the developed world. Among the various types, lung cancer ranks first in mortality [14]. It is no secret that exposure to cigarette smoke is one of the leading risk factors for the development of the condition. In fact, smoking cigarettes has been associated with a 15-30-fold increase of the subsequent development of lung cancer [15]. Patients with schizophrenia have a well-documented history of significantly higher than average rates of smoking cigarettes. At first glance, a patient population with tobacco smoking rates twice that of the general population would think to be correlated with higher than average rates of pulmonary neoplasia. Interestingly, despite their increased exposure, patients with schizophrenia have been found to have a lower overall rate of lung cancer than that of the general population [1-3]. The connection between lung cancer and schizophrenia is one that is straightforward. Like most neoplastic processes, a combination of both environmental and genetic factors likely plays a role in the ultimate development of the condition. Multiple reasonable environmental protective factors have been identified [16]. However, the question of which-if any-genetic element that links the two conditions remains to be answered. The goal of this review was to attempt to gain clarity on this topic.