Chemical Carcinogenesis: Integrating New Concepts Into Etiology From an abstract by John D. Groopman, Johns Hopkins Univ, Baltimore, MD “The overwhelming majority of cancers are affected in terms of timing and severity, at diagnosis by the multifactoral etiology of these diseases. Historically, high exposures, often in the workplace, to a number of agents were responsible for the identification of several very potent carcinogens. Fortunately many of these high exposures no longer routinely occur and we are now recognizing the subtle interplay that viral and bacterial infections afford in concert with chemical agent exposures”. He suggested this was exemplified in hepatocellular cancer (liver) noting that there are more than 600,000 new cases annually in parts of the world, especially Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Etiologic factors for development of this cancer include hepatitis B (HBV) and/or hepatitis C (HCV) virus and lifetime exposure to high levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the diet. Stephen S Hecht, Univ of MN Cancer Ctr, Minneapolis, MN, presented on “Phenotypic Biomarkers Related to Human Carcinogen Exposure and Metabolic Activation” The conclusion: “…phenotypic biomarkers appear to have great potential for investigating susceptibility to tobacco and alcohol-related cancer”. Ann’s NOTE: I find it so depressing that those of us in health advocacy cannot stop the sale and use of cigarettes. We work ‘downstream’ by trying to rid people of the addiction. This seems absolutely NUTS to me. We need to ban together to make cigarettes unavailable and no longer ‘cool’. After all there is NO social benefit to smoking – it does not reduce weight, it does not make one an adult, it is NOT sexy and it is poison for those who smoke and those around them. We allow this poison into our society because it is good for business – is that really acceptable? Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Reseearch, 2005 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.