carcinogen
Sign in to saveA carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and biologic agents such as viruses and bacteria. Most carcinogens act by creating mutations in DNA that disrupt a cell's normal processes for regulating growth, leading to uncontrolled cellular proliferation. This occurs when the cell's DNA repair processes fail to identify DNA damage allowing the defect to be passed down to daughter cells. The damage accumulates over time. This is typica
AI overview
A carcinogen is any substance or agent—including chemicals, radiation, and certain viruses—that can cause cancer by damaging DNA and disrupting a cell's ability to control its own growth. Understanding carcinogens matters because the DNA damage they cause can accumulate over time and lead to uncontrolled cell growth, so identifying and avoiding exposure to known carcinogens is an important part of cancer prevention.
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Article
28 sectionsContents
- Radiation
- Ionizing Radiation
- Non-ionizing radiation
- Common carcinogens associated with food
- Alcohol
- Processed meats
- Meats cooked at high temperatures
- Acrylamide in foods
- Biologic Agents
- Cigarette smoke
- Occupational carcinogens
- Others
- Mechanisms of carcinogenicity
- Classification
- International Agency for Research on Cancer
- Globally Harmonized System
- U.S. National Toxicology Program
- American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
- European Union
- Safe Work Australia
- Major carcinogens implicated in the four most common cancers worldwide
- Lung cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
- Stomach cancer
- See also
- References
- External links
A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and biologic agents such as viruses and bacteria. Most carcinogens act by creating mutations in DNA that disrupt a cell's normal processes for regulating growth, leading to uncontrolled cellular proliferation. This occurs when the cell's DNA repair processes fail to identify DNA damage allowing the defect to be passed down to daughter cells. The damage accumulates over time. This is typically a multi-step process during which the regulatory mechanisms within the cell are gradually dismantled allowing for unchecked cellular division.
The specific mechanisms for carcinogenic activity are unique to each agent and cell type. Carcinogenic agents can be broadly categorized, however, as either activation-dependent or activation-independent, which relate to the agent's ability to engage directly with DNA. Activation-dependent agents are relatively inert in their original form, but are bioactivated in the body into metabolites or intermediaries capable of damaging human DNA. These are also known as "indirect-acting" carcinogens. Examples of activation-dependent carcinogens include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic aromatic amines, and mycotoxins.