Radiation Exposure
- Incidence of malignant soft tissue tumors (sarcomas) after previous radiotherapy.
- Exposure to ionizing radiation
- Computed tomography (CT) in childhood – CNS tumors (risk: 1.35-fold); leukemias risk: 1.72-fold).
- UV radiation (including solarium use) – actinic keratosis (precancerous lesion; risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma), squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, basal cell carcinoma (basal cell carcinoma; 10 times more common than melanoma), melanoma
- Radiotherapy/radiotherapy (e.g., in Hodgkin’s disease, prostate cancer).
- X-ray or gamma radiation – bronchial carcinoma (radon! ), mammary carcinoma (breast cancer), leukemia, thyroid carcinoma.
Environmental pollution including stress (intoxications) in the workplace.
- Inhalation of coal dust (miners) – bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer).
- Carcinogens such as:
- Aromatic amines (such as aniline, toluidine, naphthylamine, etc. and their derivatives; starting material for drugs, plastics, pesticides or dyes) – Urinary bladder carcinoma (cancer of the urinary bladder; bladder cancer).
- Asbestos – lung cancer; laryngeal carcinoma (cancer of the larynx); pleural mesothelioma (a malignant (malignant) tumor of the pleura, i.e., the pleura, originating from the mesothelial cells (celomic epithelium); peritoneal mesothelioma (a malignant (malignant) tumor of the peritoneum, i.e., the peritoneum, originating from the mesothelial cells (celomic epithelium))
- Arsenic – (skin, liver, lungs) – latency period 15-20 years.
- Benzene – leukemia (blood cancer)
- Benzpyrene – found in exhaust fumes, smoke and tar. It is considered a risk factor for gastric cancer (stomach cancer) and prostate cancer (pancreatic cancer). Cigarette smoke also contains benzpyrene, which in turn can lead to bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer) and laryngeal carcinoma (cancer of the larynx).
- Cadmium – prostate cancer (prostate cancer).
- Chromium (VI) compounds – liver tumors, unspecified.
- Nickel – bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer) and tumors of the internal nose and sinuses.
- Chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs) – a group of organic chemical compounds in which particularly dangerous environmental pollutants are represented. Areas of application: Wood preservatives, cleaning agents, solvents and pesticides, phthalates (plasticizers) in paints and plastics and for plastic production. Under unfavorable combustion conditions, other, partly toxic CHCs such as dioxins are formed.
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; benzpyrene, benzanthracene, methylcholanthrene) – benzpyrene is considered a risk factor for gastric carcinoma (stomach cancer) and prostate carcinoma (pancreatic cancer). Cigarette smoke also contains benzpyrene, which in turn can lead to bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer) and laryngeal carcinoma (cancer of the larynx).
- Polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs, contained in diesel exhaust; excretion of PAH metabolites via the kidneys) – risk factor for bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer) and urothelial carcinoma (cancer of the transitional tissue (urothelium) lining the urinary tract).
- Indoor radon – bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer), malignant melanoma.
- Contact with
- Benzo(a)pyrene (1,2-benzpyrene) contained in soot (chimney sweep) – Testicular carcinoma (testicular cancer).
- In tar and bitumen – bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer); laryngeal carcinoma (cancer of the larynx).
- Lignite tars (lignite workers) – skin tumors.
- Fine dust – bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer).
- Fuchsin – urinary bladder carcinoma (bladder cancer).
- Halogenated ethers (“haloethers”), especially dichlorodimethyl ether – bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer).
- Wood dust – tumors of the inner nose and sinuses.
Other causes
- The risk of developing a tumor again after an allogeneic (transfer of stem cells between genetically different individuals) stem cell transplant is increased approximately 2 to 3 times compared to a healthy, non-transplanted person.
- Free radicals – these react with the cell nucleus and DNA (genetic information), among other things. The result of this oxidative DNA damage are, for example, point mutations and enzyme disorders, which lead to significant disruption of cellular functions and thus metabolic processes. ROS-related mutations (ROS = reactive oxygen derivatives) also increase with age.This particularly affects the mitochondria (“power plants of the cells”) .
