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Mechanisms of Environmental and Occupational Carcinogenesis

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Occupational Cancers

Abstract

Carcinogenesis is a complex, multistep process, involving accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations that confer a growth and/or survival advantage, through which cells gradually achieve unchecked growth and eventually become fully malignant and invasive. There are numerous sources of physical, chemical, and biological exposures that stem from endogenous and exogenous sources—including occupational settings—that can induce such genetic and epigenetic alterations. This damage is repaired through a high-fidelity DNA repair process that operates through multiple pathways, although the system is imperfect and varies by repair mechanism, potentially resulting in incorporation of DNA damage and epigenetic alterations. This chapter provides an introduction to mechanisms of environmental and occupational carcinogenesis and DNA repair, and provides examples of physical and chemical carcinogens and epigenetic effectors.

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Summary

Carcinogenesis is a complex multistep process involving an accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes that alter the phenotype of the cell and imbue a growth or survival advantage that can eventually allow affected cells to develop malignant properties and invade into other tissues. Exogenous physical, chemical, and biological exposures stemming from the environment or occupational setting can induce such somatic genetic and epigenetic changes through a variety of mechanisms. Fortunately, eukaryotic cells have evolved a highly efficient mechanism for repairing such damage, although unfortunately, despite the high-fidelity of the process, mutations still may go unrepaired and become incorporated into the genome. Understanding how physical, chemical, and biological exposures can lead to genetic and epigenetic aberrations is paramount for discerning how occupational exposures can modulate risk for cancer development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Scott M. Langevin

  2. Cincinnati Cancer Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Scott M. Langevin

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Karl T. Kelsey

  4. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Karl T. Kelsey

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  1. Scott M. Langevin
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  2. Karl T. Kelsey
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Correspondence to Karl T. Kelsey .

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  1. Department of Pathology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Sisko Anttila

  2. Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Paolo Boffetta

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Langevin, S.M., Kelsey, K.T. (2020). Mechanisms of Environmental and Occupational Carcinogenesis. In: Anttila, S., Boffetta, P. (eds) Occupational Cancers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30766-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30766-0_3

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