Co-carcinogen

Co-carcinogen

A Co-carcinogen is a chemical that promotes the effects of a carcinogen in the production of cancer. Usually, the term is used to refer to chemicals that are not carcinogenic on their own. A chemical can be co-carcinogenic with other chemicals or with nonchemical carcinogens, such as UV radiation.

For example, sodium arsenite can be administered to mice at a low enough concentration that it does not cause tumors on its own, but it increases the rate of formation and size of tumors formed after UV exposure.[1]

A chemical may both have anti-carcinogenic properties and yet still be a co-carcinogen in combination with some carcinogens. Evidence points to beta carotene being one example of such a compound, which has led researchers to caution against the emphasis on isolated dietary supplements and instead recommend a focus on promoting a diverse diet rich in fruits and vegetables.[2]

References

  1. ^ [1] Toby G. Rossman, Ahmed N. Uddin, Fredric J. Burns and Maarten C. Bosland, "Arsenite Is a Cocarcinogen with Solar Ultraviolet Radiation for Mouse Skin: An Animal Model for Arsenic Carcinogenesis", Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 176, No. 1, pp. 64-71, October 2001.
  2. ^ [2] Moreno Paolinia, Sherif Z. Abdel-Rahmanb, Andrea Saponea, Gian Franco Pedullic, Paolo Peroccod, Giorgio Cantelli-Fortia, b and Marvin S. Legator, "β-Carotene: a cancer chemopreventive agent or a co-carcinogen?", Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research, Vol. 543, No. 3, pp. 195-200, June 2003.


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