Epidemiologic and Environmental Aspects of Cancer Flashcards
At least _____ percent of cancers are thought to be caused by environmental factors.
80
In equatorial Africa, ______ cancer is unusually common.
liver (due to high hepatitis incidence)
About ______ deaths per year are attributed to smoking.
443,000
What four cancers kill the most men? Women?
Men: lung, prostate, colorectal, pancreas
Women: lung, breast, colorectal, pancreas
Why has stomach cancer declined over the last century?
Refrigeration!
In Colorado, the lifetime risk of cancer is ____ for men and ____ for women.
50%; 40%
Peak age of cancer is ____.
roughly seventy
Describe the Ames test.
Place suspect mutagens on an agar with salmonella that are incapable of replicating due to mutations in histidine synthesis. If the substance is mutagenic, then mutations will occur that allow some cells to replicate despite their histidine handicap.
What are the four most-studied carcinogens?
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons, aflatoxins, aromatic amines, and nitrosamines (all must be activated by CYP450)
Aflatoxins come from _______.
mold (such as in unrefrigerated food)
In terms of carcinogenesis, what are promoters?
Substances that irritate a mutated cell to help cancer develop; they are not mutagens, but rather work through secondary means to promote cancer, such as by inducing inflammation.
