co-carcinogen
Sign in to saveAlso known as cocarcinogen
A co-carcinogen is a chemical that promotes the effects of a carcinogen in the production of cancer. Usually, the term is used to refer to chemicals that are not carcinogenic on their own, such that an equivalent amount of the chemical is insufficient to initiate carcinogenesis. A chemical can be co-carcinogenic with other chemicals or with nonchemical carcinogens, such as UV radiation.
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- Classification of co-carcinogen
- Common co-carcinogens
- Issues
- References
A co-carcinogen is a chemical that promotes the effects of a carcinogen in the production of cancer. Usually, the term is used to refer to chemicals that are not carcinogenic on their own, such that an equivalent amount of the chemical is insufficient to initiate carcinogenesis. A chemical can be co-carcinogenic with other chemicals or with nonchemical carcinogens, such as UV radiation.
For example, sodium arsenite can be administered to mice at a low enough concentration that it does not cause tumors on its own, but it increases the rate of formation and size of tumors formed after UV exposure.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “co-carcinogen” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.