CHEMICAL CARCINOGENS Providence VA Medical 化学致癌物质上帝的医疗.ppt

CHEMICAL CARCINOGENS What is a carcinogen? Any substance that is capable of causing cancer. Cancer is the abnormal or uncontrolled growth of new cells in any part of the body, characterized by cells that tend to invade surrounding tissue and metastasize to new body sites. Carcinogens are chronic toxins. They cause damage after repeated or long-duration exposure. They may have not immediate apparent harmful effects, with cancer developing only after a long latency period. What are reproductive toxins? Mutagens cause damage to chromo-somes by introducing changes to DNA. Mutagens have adverse effects on fertility and general reproductive performance. Mutagens are chronic toxins Teratogens act during pregnancy to cause adverse effects on the embryo or fetus including malformations, retarded growth and post- natal deficiencies. Reproductive toxins can affect both men and women. What materials are carcinogens? Asbestos Certain chemicals Coal tars and coke oven emissions Hardwood sawdust (certain species) Ionizing radiation Natural products (progesterone, safrole) Tobacco smoke Ultraviolet radiation What is a chemical carcinogen? Any discrete chemical compound which has been shown to cause cancer in human or animal studies. Hundreds of individual compounds have been shown to induce cancers. Many thousands of additional compounds are “suspect” carcinogens. Many are commonly used in laboratory operations, shops and art studios. How is chemical carcinogenicity determined? Epidemiological studies determine the relationship between a cancer suspect chemical and a human population over a long period of time. Animal studies directly induce cancer in test animals using a large sample of animals, usually of two or more species with varying dose and time parameters. Experiments with animals are based on the premise that chemicals that produce cancer in animals will have similar effects on human cells. Most known human carcinogens produce cancer in expe