In fact, there are many types of carcinogens in our lives, and different levels of carcinogens pose different risks to people. Through searching the literature and relevant materials released by the WHO, we can find that many carcinogens have been lurking around us, but have not been taken seriously. Today we will talk in detail about the carcinogens, I hope it can help you!
We commonly see the following latent substances carcinogens:
Tobacco
Globally, smoking is the largest single avoidable risk factor for cancer deaths, and according to statistics, the number of deaths per year due to smoking accounts for about 22% of the total mortality rate. 7.4 million cancer deaths in 2004, 1.6 million were caused by tobacco use. 1.6 million were caused by tobacco use.
Smoking causes a variety of cancers including lung, esophagus, pharynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and sub. About 70% of all lung cancers are caused by smoking. Studies have shown that secondhand smoke has been shown to cause lung cancer in non-smokers. Smokeless tobacco (also known as oral tobacco, chewing tobacco, or snuff) can cause cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and pancreas.
Alcohol
Alcohol abuse is a significant risk factor for many types of cancers, including cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, hepatocytes, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer.
The more alcohol you drink, the greater your risk of cancer. If a person is a heavy drinker and a smoker, his risk of developing various cancers is greatly increased.
The specific types of cancer caused by alcohol differ between men and women, mainly due to differences in average intake. For example: among men, 22% of oropharyngeal cancers are caused by alcohol, compared to only 9% of women. This gender difference is also seen in esophageal and liver cancers.
Environmental Pollution
Tumors caused by environmental pollution containing carcinogens in the atmosphere, water, and soil account for about 1-4% of total tumors (WHO, 2003). Pollution of drinking water, indoor and surrounding air can lead to exposure to carcinogens in the environment. In arsenic contaminated areas of Bangladesh, 5-10% of cancer patients die from arsenic exposure (Smith, Lingas& Rahman,2000). Chemicals in food contamination, such as aflatoxins, also cause carcinogen exposure. Indoor air pollution from coal combustion multiplies the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers (Smith, Mehta& Feuz,2004). Household coal use is particularly prevalent in Asia, where about 1.5% of lung cancer deaths worldwide are due to indoor air pollution from household coal use.
Betel nut
Betel nut has the strongest correlation with oral cancer. The high incidence of oral cancer in Asia has a lot to do with the fact that Asians like to eat betel nut. On the one hand, betel nut fibers are rough, and chewing betel nut for a long time will cause damage to the oral mucosa and teeth. This is a physical damage. On the other hand, betel nut contains a large number of chemical components, such as alkaloids, which can directly kill cells and cause inflammatory reactions, causing damage to the oral cavity. The double damage, physical and chemical, results in sustained damage to the oral mucosa when betel nut is chewed. A variety of cancers are associated with sustained damage to their respective organs, including lung, liver, and esophageal cancers.
Helicobacter pylori infection (Hp) and stomach, liver, and pancreatic cancers
Helicobacter pylori, which has been classified as a class 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization, can settle in the sinus section of the stomach stably over a long period of time, and it is the only bacterium found to be able to survive inside the stomach. It is the only bacterium found to survive inside the stomach. It can be infected through the following ways:
①Oral-oral transmission: such as using the same food utensils with infected people***, chewing food and feeding, wet kissing; consuming contaminated meat, milk, vegetables and other foods, drinking contaminated water; poor hygiene habits, etc.
②***Transmission with utensils: such as using food containers or dental equipment with infected people***;
③ fecal-oral transmission: such as eating food contaminated by excreta, drinking contaminated water, and untreated water such as well water;
④ medical contamination transmission: such as close contact with H. pylori infected or contaminated utensils, the use of medical equipment that has not been thoroughly disinfected.
Aflatoxin and liver cancer
Aflatoxin includes about 20 kinds of fungal metabolites, with high toxicity and carcinogenicity, according to the literature its toxicity is reported to be 10 times that of potassium cyanide, 68 times that of arsenic, which belongs to the class 1 carcinogen. It has been found that aflatoxin can infest a wide range of food products, including spices, grains, figs, nuts and dried fruits. Upon entering the host, the toxin exhibits strong hepatophilicity, causing liver hemorrhage, steatosis, bile duct hyperplasia, and ultimately liver cancer. The most widely used rapid test is immunoassay (Elisa and test strip method), which is a common screening method in the market. TRFM-ICTS paper strips developed by LI et al. are suitable for daily detection of carcinogens exceeding the standard, which can prevent the occurrence of aflatoxin B1 poisoning to a certain extent.
There are more risk factors around, especially the above carcinogens have a greater impact on health, and play an important role in the development of various cancers, we should pay attention to, there is a risk of exposure to the more should do a good job of protection and related detection and prevention work.