ABSTRACT
Remote/proximate/ultimate carcinogen sequence: best example is -naphthylamine.
Direct effect or after metabolic conversion. These carcinogens are usually hydrocarbons, which form charged molecules called epoxides. Epoxides then bind to DNA and RNA, causing a genetic mutation:
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (tar) in smoke cause lung cancer • Aromatic amines (-naphthylamine – used in the rubber and dye industry):
converted to a carcinogen in the liver and thought to cause bladder cancer • Nitrosamines: used in fertilizers, causing gastrointestinal tract cancers • Azo dyes – in bladder and liver cancer.
