Abstract
As a stress agent, inducing apoptosis and blocking it, Cd can have both helpful and harmful effects. The atmosphere is a thin envelope which makes the worid a global village. Cd is the most toxic metal in air. As both the first and second messenger of the stress response, it is synergistically toxic with all other stressors, including many other carcinogens. Elimination of Pb and its replacement with added benzene in gasoline appears to have increased the toxicity of atmospheric Cd. With scientific understanding of the molecular basis of Cd's role in carcinogenesis and anti-carcinogenesis, primary cancer prevention can be practiced by reducing Cd and chemical air pollution and educating the public on smoke cessation, healthy eating habits and stress reduction. Using the existing information on Cd and its effects, determinations could be made on established cancers so that individualized treatment protocols can be developed to improve patient care.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Noda, H., Sugiyama, M., Tatsumi, S., Sano, Y., Konishi, S., Furutani, A. and Yoshimura, M. (1993) Study on secular changes of cadmium concentration accumulated in main organs of Japanese. Nippon Hoigaku Zasshi 47 (121), 153–159.
Elinder, C. Q. (1992) Cadmium as an environmental hazard. IARC Sci. Publ. 118, 1232–1243.
Ochi, T., Takahashi, K. and Ohsawa, M. (1987) Indirect evidence for the induction of a prooxidant state by cadmium chloride in cult red mammalian cells and a possible mechanism or the induction. Mut. Res. 180, 257–266.
Kopp, S. J., Dear, A. A., and Prentice, R. C. (1986) 31P NMR studies of the intact perfused rat heart: a novel analytical approach for determining functional-metabolic correlates, temporal relationships, and intracellular actions of cardiotoxic chemicals non-destructively in an intact organ model. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 82, 200–210.
Toury, R., Boissonneau, E. and Stelly, N. (1985) Mitochondrial alterations in Cd2+-treated rats: general regression of inner membrane cristae and electron transport impairment. Biol. Cell 55, 71–86.
Smith, J. B., Dwyer, S. D. and Smith, L. (1989) Evidence for a cell surface receptor that cadmium stimulates and zinc antagonizes. J. Biol. Chem. 264, 7115–7118.
Von Zglinicki, T., Edwall, C., Ostiund, E., Und B., Nordberg, M., Ringertz, N. R. and Wroblewski, J. (1992) Very low cadmium concentrations stimulate DNA synthesis and cell growth. J. Cell. Sci. 103 IPt 41, 1073–1081.
Furst, A. and Nickel, V. S. (1989) Cadmium carcinogenicity in the same Fischer-344 rat. Proc. Ann. Meet. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res. 30: A 532.
Freedman, L. P., Luisi, B. F. and Korszun, Z. R. (1988) Function and structure of the metal coordination sites with the glucocorticoid DNA binding domain. Nature 334, 543–546.
Gedamu, L., Varshney, U., Jahroudi, N. and Foster, R. (1987) Structure and expression of the human metallothionein genes. Experientia Suppl. 52, 361–372.
Jin, P. and Ringertz, N. R. (1990) Cadmium induces transcription of proto-oncogenes c-jun and c-myc in rat L6 myoblasts. J. Biol. Chem. 265, 14061–14065.
Waalkes, M. P. and Rehm, M. S. (1994) Cadmium and prostate cancer. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health 43 (3) 251–269.
Waalkes, M. P., Anver, M. and Diwan, B. A., (1999) Carcinogic effects of cadmium in the noble (NBL/cr) rat: induction of pituitary, testicular and injection site tumors and intraepithelial proliferative lessions of the dorsal prostate toxicol. Sci. 52 (2), 154–161.
Hainaut, P. and Milner, J. (1993) A structural role for metal ions in the ‘wild-type’ conformation of the tumor suppressor protein p53. Can. Res. 53, 1739–1742.
Pearson, C. A. and Prozialeck, W. C. (2001) E-Cadherin, beta-catenin and cadmium carcinogenesis. Med. Hypotheses. 56 (5), 573–581.
Waalkes, M. P. (2000) Cadmium carcinogenesis in review J. Inorg. Biochem. 79 (1–4), 241–244.
Kasahara, K., Fujiwara, Y., Nishio, K., Ohmori, T., Sugimoto, Y., Komiya, K. Matsuda, T. and Saijo, N. (1991) Metallothionein content correlates with the senstivity of human small cell lung cancer cell lines to cisplatin. Can. Res. 51, 3237–3242.
Ripla, B. and Chandra, R. (1993) Effect of metal salts, organometals and metalloporphyrins on heme synthesis and catabolism with special reference to clinical implications and interactions with cytochrome p-450. Drug Metabol. Rev. 25, 49–152.
Sunderman, F. W. Jr. (1987). Metal Induction of heme oxygenase. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 514, 65–80.
Moore, M., Narasimhan, T. R., Wang, X, Krishnan, V., Safe, S., Williams, H. J. and Scott, A. I. (1993) Interaction of 2.3.7.8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPAI and 17 beta estradiol in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. J. Ster. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 44, 251–261.
Lohmann, R. D. and Beyersmann, D. (1993) Cadmium and zinc mediated changes of the Ca2+ I-dependent endonuclease in apoptosis. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 190, 1097–1103.
Chandra, R., Beri, R. and Sarkar, A. (1992) Effect of hepatic DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis in rats bearing transplanted tumor by Dalton's Lymphoma Cells. J. Inorg. Biochem. 48 (1), 1–14.
Chandra, R., Beri, R. and Sarkar, A. (1992) Synthesis and characterization of iron (III), cobalt (II) and nickel (II) metal complexes with TaHh-DAP and Ta-Hh-TDA hexadentate macrocyclic ligands. Synth. Rect. Inorg. Metal-org. Chem. 22 (8), 1195–1209.
Waalkes, M. P., Diwan, B. A., Weghorst, C. M., Bare, R. M., Ward, J. M. and Rice, J. M. (1991) Anticarcinogenic effects of cadmium in B6C3F1 mouse liver and lung. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 110 (21), 327–335.
Horiguchi, H., Mukaida, N., Okamoto, S., Teranishi, H., Kasuya, M. and Matsushima, K.. (1993) Cadmium induces interleukin-8 production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells with the concommitant generation of superoxide radicals. Lymphokine and Cytokine Res. 12, 421–428.
Thompson, E. W., Brunner N., Torri, J., Johnson, M. D., Boulay, V., Wright, A., Uppman, M. E., Steeg, P. S. and Clarke, R. (1993) The invasive and metastatic properties of hormone-independent but hormone-responsive variants of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Clin. Exp. Metastasis 11, 15–26.
Brown, D. and Van Beneden, R. J. (1993) Investigations of molecular mechanisms of gonadal tumors in herbicide-exposed bivalves. Proc. Ann. Meet. Am. Assoc. Canc. Res. 34, A 1001.
Muller, L. and Stacey, N. H. (1988) Subcellular toxicity of low level cadmium in rats: effect on cytochromec oxidase. Toxicol 9, 223–224.
Ebeling, P. and Komsto, V. K. Physiological importance of dehydroepiandrosterone (1994) Lancet 343, 1479–1481.
Shirai, T., Iwasaki, S., Masui, T., Mori, T., Kato, T. and Ito, N. (1993) Enhancing effect of cadmium on rat ventral prostate carcinogensis induced by 3′, 2′-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl. Jap. J. Canc. Res. 84, 1023–1030.
Harrison, P. T. and Heath, J. C. (1986) Apparent synergy in lung carcinogenesis, Interactions between N-nitrosoheptamethyleneimine, particulate cadmium and crocidolite asbestos fibers in rats. Carcinogenesis 7, 1903–1908.
Martin Mateo, M. C., Rabadan, J. and Boustamante, J (1990) Comparative analysis of certain metals and tumor markers in bronchopulmonary cancer and colorectal cancers. Metals and tumor markers in the neoplastic process. Clin. Physiol. Biochem. 8, 261–266.
Collins, J. J., Strauss, M. E., Levinskas, G. J. and Conner, P. R. (1993) The mortality experience of workers exposed to 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in a trichlorophenol process accident. Epidemiol. 4, 7–13.
Sens, M. A., Hazen-Martin, D. J., Bylander, J. E. and Sens, D. A. (1994) Heterogeneity in the amount of lonic cadmium necessary to elicit cell death in independent cultures of human proximal tubule cells. Toxicol. Lett. 70, 185–191.
Chandra, R., Dhawan, M. and Malhotra, R. (1995) Regulation Of hepatic heme oxygenase by CoMP. J. Inorg. Biochem. 59 (2&3), 516–535.
Koizumi, T. U. (1992) Role of oxidative stress in single dose cadmium-induced testicular cancer. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health. 37, Ul, 25–36.
Iversen, P. L. and Ebadi, M. (1992) Antisense oligonucleotide-mediated inhibition of metallothionein protein synthesis In: Neuroblastoma IMR 32 and Chang liver cells in culture. Biol. Signals 1121, 57–64.
Zhang, Z. J., Troll, W., Koenig, K. L. and Frenkel, K. (1990) Carcinogenic sulfide salts of nickel and cadmium induce H, O, formation by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Canc. Res. 50, 7564–7570.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chandra, R., Dass, S.K., Tomar, P. et al. Cadmium, carcinogen, co-carcinogen and anti carcinogen. Indian J Clin Biochem 16, 145–152 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02864853
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02864853