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Summary
Chemicals can cause cancer in humans and animals, often requiring metabolic activation to become harmful. Identifying these carcinogens, including natural ones in food, is crucial for cancer prevention.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Carcinogenesis
- Chemical Biology
Background:
- Chemicals, both industrial and naturally occurring, can induce cancer in humans and animals.
- Many chemical carcinogens are precarcinogens needing metabolic activation into reactive electrophiles.
- These electrophiles form adducts with DNA, RNA, and proteins, initiating the carcinogenic process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the nature and sources of chemical carcinogens.
- To discuss mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis.
- To highlight methods for detecting potential carcinogens, especially in food.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on chemical carcinogens and their mechanisms.
- Discussion of metabolic activation pathways.
- Evaluation of mutagenicity assays for carcinogen detection.
- Consideration of epidemiological approaches for natural carcinogens.
Main Results:
- A wide variety of chemical carcinogens exist, with no common structure, many requiring metabolic activation.
- Naturally occurring carcinogens are found in plants, fungi, and potentially in human foods.
- Electrophilic forms of carcinogens are mutagenic, and mammalian assays show promise for detection.
Conclusions:
- Chemical carcinogens initiate cancer through DNA, RNA, and protein adducts.
- Mammalian mutagenicity assays can serve as a prescreen for food-related carcinogens.
- Epidemiological studies are essential to assess the risk of naturally occurring carcinogens in human cancer.