Parental smoking linked to genetic changes in kids with cancer
Parents who smoke may contribute to genetic changes in their kids that are associated with the most common type of childhood cancer, a recent study suggests.

Some previous research has linked parental smoking to an increased risk of childhood leukemia, but with less consistent results for mothers than for fathers. The current study is the first to link smoking by both parents to specific genetic changes in tumor cells of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), said lead study author Adam de Smith, a researcher at the University of California San Francisco’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer center.