Dossier : Cancer : Influence of environment
Lifestyle-related factors and environmental agents causing cancer: An overview
Introduction
Lifestyle-related factors are not by themselves cancer causing agents, but are risk factors associated with the genesis of cancer, through professional exposures, behavior-related habits and addiction leading to exposure to recognized or suspected carcinogens. While lifestyle-related factors are usually well determined and thus accessible to epidemiological studies, cancer causing agents, because they are multiple, diverse and diffuse in the environment, are more difficult to identify and recognize and therefore evidence through classical epidemiological methods. Indeed, in the case of environmental carcinogens, we need to not only analyse the results of epidemiological studies, but also consider biological and toxicological data in close relationship with genetic susceptibility in the context of molecular gene–environment interactions, in order to interpret epidemiological studies in a more comprehensive way.
There are currently two opposite interpretations of the growing incidence of cancer. The first one considers that environmental pollutants can only make a minor contribution to the overall cancer incidence changes and therefore that increase in the size and ageing of the population, lifestyle influences such as smoking, alcohol consumption and diet, and new progress in diagnosis and screening procedures can explain most of the current increased cancer incidence [1], [2], [3]. Conversely, the second interpretation, considering that these arguments are not sufficient, estimates that in addition to these factors, there is a contribution from the environment and that involuntary exposure to diverse physical, chemical and biological agents, which may be present in the surroundings of individuals play a major role in the occurrence of the disease [4], [5], [6], [7], [8].
In a previous paper, we have shown that lifestyle-related factors, as well as ageing and new diagnostic and screening tests, cannot fully account for the overall recent growing incidence of cancer in the Western countries [9]. Moreover, we have proposed a hypothesis according to which the involuntary exposure to environmental carcinogens could contribute to the growing incidence of cancer in Western countries and, in a more recent paper, we have suggested that environmental carcinogens may in fact play a more important role in carcinogenesis than it is usually agreed [10].
In this paper, we intend to further show that studies of lifestyle-related factors are unsuccessful to fully understand the recent growing incidence of cancer and that cancer causing agents as evidenced from toxicological and biological investigations must be taken into account to interpretate correctly both carcinogenesis and current public health concerns.
Section snippets
Lifestyle-related factors
It is well agreed that smoking and to a lesser extent alcohol consumption, diet imbalance, obesity and lack of physical exercise can contribute to cancer in high-income countries.
Environmental causing cancer agents
In order to justify the hypothesis according to which the growing incidence of cancers could actually be related to environmental factors, we examine environmental carcinogens, in particular mutagens, and analyse their potential role in inducing cancers.
Conclusion
The industrial revolution over the second half of the last century and its consequences in domains such as energy, transport, agriculture, food and health led to synthesize, produce and introduce into the environment, millions of man-made chemicals or substances. As a result, according to the European commission, about 100,000 chemicals have been so far marketed, since the last world war, without sufficient toxicological control. Such products can act as persistent toxic pollutants and
References (311)
- et al.
The multitude and diversity of environmental carcinogens
Environ Res
(2007) Cancer prevention: epidemiology and perspectives
Eur J Cancer
(1999)- et al.
Alcohol and liver cancer
Alcohol
(2005) - et al.
Ethanol increases mitochondrial cytochrome P450 2E1 in mouse liver and rat hepatocytes
FEBS Lett
(2005) - et al.
Causes of cancer in the world: comparative risk assessment of nine behavioural and environmental risk factors
Lancet
(2005) - et al.
Incidence of adenocarcinoma of the prostate in Asian immigrants to the United States and their descendants
J Urol
(1999) - et al.
Oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation-derived DNA-lesions in inflammation driven carcinogenesis
Cancer Detect Prev
(2004) - et al.
Behaviour of dioxin in pig adipocytes
Food Chem Toxicol
(2005) - et al.
Factors affecting plasma benzo[a]pyrene levels in environmental studies
Environ Res
(1983) - et al.
Overweight/obesity and cancer: more than a biological link
Biomed Pharmacother
(2007)
Estimates of global mortality attributable to smoking in 2000
Lancet
HBV induced carcinogenesis
J Clin Virol
Epidemiology of prostate cancer
Urology
Breast cancer incidence and mortality trends in 16 European countries
Eur J Cancer
Cochrane review on screening for breast cancer with mammography
Lancet
Trends in breast cancer incidence, survival, and mortality
Lancet
Comparison of trends in prostate cancer mortality in England and Wales and the USA
Lancet
Skin cancer in kidney and heart transplant recipients and different long-term immunosuppressive therapy regimens
J Am Acad Dermatol
Malignancy in organ transplantation: heart
Transplant Proc
The growing incidence of cancer: role of lifestyle and screening detection
Int J Oncol
Involuntary smoking and lung cancer
Scand J Work Environ Health
Harmful health effects of cigarette smoking
Mol Cell Biochem
Environmental and occupational causes of cancer re-visited
J Public Health Policy
Environmental and occupational pollutants are avoidable causes of breast cancer
Int J Health Serv
Breast cancer: occurrence, risk factors and hormone metabolism
Expert Rev Anticancer Ther
La part de l'environnement physico-chimique dans la genese des cancers: quelle amplitude et comment la mesurer?
Bull Mem Acad R Med Belg
Environmental influences in cancer aetiology
J Nutr Env Med
The quantification of drug caused morbidity and mortality in Australia
Tobacco smoke and involuntary smoking
Alcohol drinking
Alcohol and cancer
Alcohol Alcohol
The cocarcinogenic action of croton resin
Cancer Res
Liver tumour promotion by chemicals: models and mechanisms
Cancer Surv
Consequences of alcohol consumption on host defence
Alcohol Alcohol
Alcohol, iron-associated oxidative stress and cancer
Alcohol
Fruit, vegetables, and cancer prevention: a review of the epidemiological evidence
Nutr Cancer
Lifestyle, health and disease prevention: the underlying mechanisms
Eur J Cancer Prev
WHO world cancer report
Recent trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality
Environ Mol Mutagen
Cancer incidence patterns among Vietnamese in the United States and Ha Noi, Vietnam
Int J Cancer
Fruit and vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables
Dietary antioxidants and human cancer
Integr Cancer Ther
The effect of dietary fatty acids on the expression levels and activities of hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes
J Health Sci
Serum fatty acids and risk of breast cancer in a nested case-control study of the New York University Women's Health Study
IARC Sci Publ
Dietary fat and cancer
Am J Med
Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of invasive breast cancer: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial
JAMA
Nutrition and colorectal cancer
Cancer Causes Control
The European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC)
Public Health Nutr
Cited by (252)
-
CuS modified PEDOT:PSS grafted paper-based electrochemical immunosensor for EpCAM biomarker detection
2024, Materials Chemistry and Physics -
Inverse correlation between Alzheimer's disease and cancer from the perspective of hypoxia
2023, Neurobiology of Aging -
Milk polar lipids: Untapped potential for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals
2023, PharmaNutrition -
Investigation of mRNA Expression Levels of Tip60 and Related DNA Repair Genes in Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer
2023, Clinical Breast Cancer