What does current clinical data tell us about the lung cancer risk posed by HTPs? Not much…

Data on biomarkers (measures of processes happening in the body) are fundamental to assessing the potential health risks of heated tobacco products (HTPs). Yet, biomarker data from clinical studies on HTPs, most of which were conducted by the tobacco industry, provide limited insight into the lung cancer risks posed by HTPs, according to a new review.

The review, published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, has brought to light the shortcomings of biomarker data from published clinical trials on HTPs. Tobacco Control Research Group researchers, which included Dr Sophie Braznell and Professor Anna Gilmore, evaluated the data on biomarkers which had been measured in published clinical trials on HTPs. They found just 16 of the 82 biomarkers measured were associated with lung cancer and had been measured in an appropriate manner. Of these 16, only 3 significantly improved in smokers who switched to HTPs.

Read the review here:

Braznell S, Campbell J, & Gilmore AB, What can current biomarker data tell us about the risks of lung cancer posed by heated tobacco products? Nicotine & Tobacco Research, May 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntad081

Find out more about HTPs on the Heated Tobacco Products page and about the tobacco industry’s approach to science on the Industry Approaches to Science on Newer Products page.