Lecture 4: Carcinogens

Question 1

True of false: Alcohol is a mutagen, but not a carcinogen?

Answer 1

False; it is a carcinogen, but not a mutagen.

Question 2

True or false: Anything that causes inflammation can cause cancer.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Which carcinogen was one of the first discovered in England? What kind of cancer did it cause in chimney sweepers in England?

Answer 3

Coal tar; testicular cancer

Question 4

What is the worst wood dust carcinogen?

Answer 4

Cedar dust

Question 5

What population continues to have an inordinately high rate of occurrence of stomach, intestine, and bladder cancer?

Answer 5

Farmers who use pesticides

Question 6

What did Ames call the potentially carcinogenic substances in the foods we commonly eat? What determines their carcinogenicity?

Answer 6

Natural pesticides; dose (need a lot of them)

Question 7

The study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs

Answer 7

Pharmacogenomics