carcinogen

carcinogen
carcinogenic /kahr'seuh neuh jen"ik, -noh-/, adj.carcinogenicity /kahr'seuh noh jeuh nis"i tee/, n.
/kahr sin"euh jeuhn, -jen', kahr"seuh neuh jen', -noh-/, n. Pathol.
any substance or agent that tends to produce a cancer.
[1935-40; CARCINO- + -GEN]

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Agent that can cause cancer.

Exposure to one or more carcinogens, including certain chemicals, radiation, and certain viruses, can initiate cancer under conditions not completely understood. Some people have a genetic tendency to develop cancer when exposed to a specific carcinogen or combination of carcinogens. Repeated local injury or irritation to a part of the body can be carcinogenic. Identifying and eliminating carcinogens in time can reduce the incidence of cancer.

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      any of a number of agents that can cause cancer, including chemicals, radiation, and viruses. Exposure to such agents, singly or in combination, can initiate cancer under conditions not wholly understood.

      Chemical effluents from industry; environmental pollutants from automobiles, residences, and factories; and tobacco smoke bear carcinogens in varying degrees depending upon geographical location and climate. Physical carcinogens include ultraviolet rays from sunlight and ionizing radiation from X-rays and from radioactive materials in industry and in the general environment. A number of viruses are suspected of causing cancer in animals, including man, and are frequently referred to as oncogenic viruses (see oncogenic virus). Repeated local injury or recurring irritation to a part of the body can be carcinogenic.

      Some—not all—cancers are heritable in the sense that a predisposition exists, awaiting a convergence of carcinogenic influences for cancer to manifest itself. The identification and timely elimination of carcinogens can reduce the incidence of cancer.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • carcinogen — CARCINOGÉN, Ă, carcinogeni, e, adj. (med.) Cancerigen. – Din fr. carcinogène. Trimis de valeriu, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  carcinogén adj. m., pl. carcinogéni; f. sg. carcinogénă …   Dicționar Român

  • carcinogen — car*cin o*gen (k[aum]r*s[i^]n [ o]*j[e^]n), n. Any substance that produces cancer; as, to test for carcinogens in the drinking water. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • carcinogen — carcinogen. См. канцероген. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • carcinogen — cancer causing substance, 1853, from CARCINOMA (Cf. carcinoma) + GEN (Cf. gen) …   Etymology dictionary

  • carcinogen — [n] cancer causing agent deadly chemical, health hazard, killer*, mutagen, poison, toxin; concept 675 …   New thesaurus

  • carcinogen — ► NOUN ▪ a substance capable of causing cancer. DERIVATIVES carcinogenic adjective. ORIGIN from CARCINOMA(Cf. ↑carcinomatous) …   English terms dictionary

  • carcinogen — [kär sin′ə jən, kär′sin′əjen΄; kär′sə nəjen] n. [< CARCINOMA + GEN] any substance that produces cancer carcinogenic [kär΄sə nō jen′ik] adj. carcinogenesis [kär΄sə nōjen′ə sis] n. carcinogenicity [kär′sə nōjə nis′ə tē] …   English World dictionary

  • Carcinogen — The term carcinogen refers to any substance, radionuclide or radiation that is an agent directly involved in the promotion of cancer or in the fatation of its propagation. This may be due to ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of… …   Wikipedia

  • Carcinogen — Krebserzeugend am Menschen Krebserzeugend am Tier Giftig (T) Umweltgefährlich (N) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • carcinogen — UK [kɑː(r)ˈsɪnədʒ(ə)n] / US [kɑrˈsɪnədʒən] / US [ˈkɑrs(ə)nəˌdʒen] noun [countable] Word forms carcinogen : singular carcinogen plural carcinogens medical a substance that can cause cancer …   English dictionary

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