Nikhil Illa
Andrew Grosovsky
5/16/14
Environmental Carcinogens
Carcinogens are defined as “any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes”
(Wikipedia). Carcinogenesis is the literal formation of cancer in the body.
“Carcinogenesis is caused by mutation and epimutation of the genetic material of normal cells, which upsets the normal balance between proliferation and cell death”
(Wikipedia). This leads to a large cell mass that may or may not be removable from the body.
The National Institute of Health claims that there are three major factors for human carcinogenesis. The first, cigarette smoking, is something that humans can easily take an active approach to avoid. Infection and inflammation are the second factors and the third is nutrition and dietary factors. As humans, food consumption is a very important part of our lives. We hope to educate fellow classmates and ourselves to avoid carcinogenic foods in an attempt to decrease the popularity of cancer due to diet.
Nutritional and dietary factors that cause cancer are found in everyday diet in various quantities. We are able to divide them in to two major categories:
Genotoxic and Non-Genotoxic. A Genotoxic agent is a chemical or other agent that damages cellular DNA, resulting in mutations or cancer. The mechanism through which DNA is impacted is variable but generally follows means like Gene point mutations, deletions and insertions, recombination, rearrangements and

amplifications, and chromosomal aberrations. Examples of such Carcinogens include micro-components such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) or heterocyclic amines (HCAs), aflatoxin, and N-nitrosamine (more details on these compounds will be addressed later). These toxins can be found in cooked foods, fungal products, plant and mushroom substances, and nitrite-related materials, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and oxidative agents.
Non-genotoxic carcinogens have been shown to act as tumor promoters, endocrine-modifiers, receptor-mediators, immunosuppressants or inducers of tissue-specific toxicity and inflammatory responses. The diversity of modes of action of non-genotoxic carcinogens, the tissue and species specificity, and the absence of genotoxicity makes predicting their carcinogenic potential extremely challenging.
Cyclosporine, metals such as arsenic and beryllium, and macro components such as high fats are examples of non-genotoxic carcinogens.
In examining the different types of dietary carcinogens, we are able to differentiate them in to three major categories: naturally present carcinogens, carcinogens present during food preparation and carcinogens that become cancerous once in the body. Examples of naturally present carcinogens includes
Aflatoxin, a toxin produced by fungi that can be found in contaminated grains and nuts and is known to form liver cancer, Tannins, found in plants specifically teas, coffee and cocoa known to cause liver tumors. Other examples include Cycad, found in tropical foods that contains Cycasin (causes liver and kidney tumors) and Safrole, found in sassafras teat, cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg, and other herbs and spices that leads to liver cancer.

Some carcinogens formed during food preparation include Polycyclic hydrocarbons that form when burning meats and are known to cause lung cancer. In addition to lung cancer, eating high amounts of such foods, including meats, can also increase chance of breath, distal colon, prostate, and pancreas cancer.
Other substances become carcinogenic once in the body, such as preservatives and coloring agents added to food (Monosodium glutamate,
Saccharine and cyclamates). Nitrosamines are formed from Sodium Nitrates which are harmless outside the body but once inside the stomach, it works with the amino acids and forms nitrosamines and is found to cause bladder and stomach cancers.
Chief sources include drinking water, vegetables, preservatives, flavor enhancers, and artificial colors and sugars.
Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) are one of the most popular carcinogens that humans are exposed to. They are pluripotent, which means that they can form into many different kinds of cancers. Examples of cancers caused by HCAs include breast, colon, and prostate cancer.
Some dietary decisions increase our risk, such as excess consumption of red meat and overcooking meat as this causes the formation of Heterocyclic Amines, which are mutagenic and carcinogenic. Other poor choices such as re-heating food in cheap plastic containers, which causes carcinogenic plastic to melt in to food, alcohol consumption even in moderate amounts has been linked to a rise in cancer risk.
What can you do to prevent and decrease your likeliness to develop cancer from dietary carcinogens? Dietary decisions can be made that lower the risk of

cancer formation. Eating five or more portions of fruit or vegetables a day is one such eating habit that is very healthy. Eating less than this suggested amount caused over half of the cancers linked to diet. It has been found that following this will protect against upper digestive system cancers (i.e. mouth, food pipe, and stomach).
Eating a lit of fiber is another way of reducing the risk, but this is difficult as fiber heavy foods are hard to find in todays world of heavy processing. Those who eat a lot of fiber were found to have a 40% lower chance of developing bowel cancer than those who ate a very limited amount.
The Cancer Research: UK wrote an article and outlined a healthy diet that may reduce risk of cancer. Some of the aforementioned include to eat less meat and animal fats (butter, cream, cheese), eat five portions of raw or lightly cooked fruit and vegetables every day, eat more fiber, eat more oily fish (e.g. salmon, trout, mackerel), eat less salt and salty foods, eat less sugar and sugary foods, eat more cereals, bread, pasta and rice, don't fry foods and if you use fats in cooking, choose vegetable oils or olive oil not lard or butter and drink less alcohol.
There are some questions that come up on the topic of environmental carcinogens. What are manufacturers doing to reduce the risk that their products are presenting?
Is the government requiring anything from manufacturers in prevention? Why are chemically produced carcinogens that we consume, rather than the carcinogens produced naturally, more publicized? These questions are difficult to answer but an attempt can be made to address them. The United States
Occupational Safety and Health Administration addresses carcinogens in specific standards for general industry, shipyard employment, the construction industry,

and the identification, classification, and regulation of carcinogens. So the government has in fact set up certain standards that manufacturers must meet.
Chemical carcinogens are additions that humans are responsible for, that can be controlled or wholly removed from foodstuffs. Naturally present carcinogens are substances that cannot be controlled however, and people tend to turn a blind eye when consuming such products.
It is the hope that this knowledge will be useful in reducing the risk of an individual to cancer. By outlining both good and bad practices, we hope to educate and inform people so that they may adjust their lifestyle accordingly.
Sources: http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/3/387.full
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/causessymptoms/causes/diet-causing-cancer https://www.sciencenews.org/node/4819 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10688859 http://www.nap.edu/html/diet/summary.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Dietary-Carcinogens-that-Increase-the-Risk-of-
Cancer&id=39749 http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/3/387.full
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1518962/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8242845 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20305331

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/42372291_Nutritional_carcinogenesis http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/35/11_Part_2/3292.full.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinogenesis http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0027510799001943 http://www.wikilectures.eu/index.php/Genotoxic_Substances#Genotoxic_Agents http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19631282 https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/carcinogens/