As has been revealed by a recent study, gene variations are connected to an increased risk of contracting lung cancer in people who have never smoked in their entire lives.

The team of researchers jointly led by scientists from Mayo Clinic and Harvard University shared that the same uncommon gene variant, which resides in a gene known as GPC5, has been discovered in 30% of lung cancer patients who had never smoked, but still ended up developing the disease, after a thorough analysis of DNA from over 2,000 people was undertaken.

The team of scientists discovered that this allele tends to lead to highly reduced GPC5 expressions, as compared to normal lung tissue, which seems to suggest that the gene has a key tumor suppressor-type functionality and the insufficient function can lead to the promotion of development of lung cancer.

"This is the first gene that has been found that is specifically associated with lung cancer in people who have never smoked. What's more, our findings suggest GPC5 may be a critical gene in lung cancer development and genetic variations of this gene may significantly contribute to increased risk of lung cancer", said lead researcher Dr. Ping Yang.