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Encyclopedia of Cancer pp 1–5Cite as

Aflatoxins

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Definition

Mycotoxins are contaminants of a number of agricultural products, including peanuts, corn, and other grains in warm and moist conditions. Human exposure to aflatoxins is primarily through ingestion and results in acute hepatic necrosis, marked bile duct hyperplasia, acute loss of appetite, wing weakness, and lethargy.

Characteristics

In the early 1960s, an outbreak of hepatotoxic disease in turkeys, which became known as turkey “X” disease, gained the attention of many investigators worldwide. This condition was characterized by acute hepatic necrosis, marked bile duct hyperplasia, acute loss of appetite, wing weakness, and lethargy. It was deduced that the condition was caused by consumption of peanut meal contaminated with a mycotoxin, which is a toxin of fungal origin. The culprit fungi in turkey “X” disease turned out to be strains of Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, and A. nomius, and thus the term aflatoxins was coined for the toxic metabolites. More specifically, A....

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References

  • Bedard LL, Massey TE (2006) Aflatoxin B-induced DNA damage and its repair. Cancer Lett 241(2):174–183

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  • Eaton DL, Groopman JD (eds) (1994) The toxicology of aflatoxins: human health, veterinary, and agricultural significance. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 3–148

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  • Massey TE, Stewart RK, Daniels JM et al (1995) Biochemical and molecular aspects of mammalian susceptibility to aflatoxin B carcinogenicity. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 208(3):213–227

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  • Massey TE, Smith GBJ, Tam AS (2000) Mechanisms of aflatoxin B lung tumorigenesis. Exp Lung Res 26:673–683

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  • Wogan GN (1973) Aflatoxin carcinogenesis. Meth Cancer Res 7:309–344

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Thomas E. Massey

  2. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Katherine A. Guindon

Authors
  1. Thomas E. Massey
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  2. Katherine A. Guindon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas E. Massey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Massey, T.E., Guindon, K.A. (2015). Aflatoxins. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_135-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_135-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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