:7 Mutations and Colon Cancer
March 31, 2008
Scientists have now identified seven mutations that are linked to colon cancer. What are the implications you wonder. Me too. There are several.
Most obvious is that a mutation is no big deal by itself. Many many chemicals can induce them. But add them up, and you get disease. It puts multi-chemical exposure back in the spotlight and these accumulated exposures suggest that being exposed even over long periods of time in small amounts, may increase risk.
Not only is the cumulative effect apparent, but there are racial differences in susceptibility. Mutations that give Europeans colon cancer, have no apparent effect on Asians. Black people don't get melanoma so easily.
This doesn't surprise me because we have seen dramatic differences in cancer incidence and mortality between countries and ethnic backgrounds for years. These diseases not only reflect exposure differences, but immunological differences as well.
For regulatory porposes, we used to classify chemicals as carcinogens and non-carcinogens and mutagens. It is obvious that we have to have a new category, mutagens that are cumulative carcinogens.
© 2008 J. Jyrkkanen
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