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Miscellaneous Chemical Carcinogens: Chemical Constitution and Carcinogenic Activity
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Badger, G. M. |
| Copyright Year | 1956 |
| Abstract | The carcinogenic hydrocarbons have been very extensively studied from several different points of view. Many problems still await solution, but the relationship between chemical constitution and carcinogenic activity is becoming clearer (Badger, 1948; Pullman and Pullman, 1955). The azo-compounds have also received considerable attention, and here again some relationship between structure and activity is discernible (Badger, and Lewis, 1952; Pullman and Pullman, 1955). Examples of chemical carcinogens belonging to other classes of compound are also known, and in recent years more attention has been devoted to these substances. Certain aromatic amines are carcinogenic as well as some urethanes, chloro-compounds, "mustards ", ethyleneimines, Senecio alkaloids, steroids, and some inorganic compounds. The purpose of the present paper is to review the present position with these miscellaneous chemical carcinogens. Radioactive carcinogens and hormonal carcinogens (oestrogens, etc.) are not included. The diversity of the different types of chemical carcinogen may occasion some surprise. On the other hand, different chemical types are well known to produce many other biological responses. Antibacterial drugs, for example, vary widely in their chemical type, and in their mode of action. In this case it is clearly unprofitable to attempt to find structural relationships between compounds acting by entirely different mechanisms; but the study of the relationship between chemical constitution and antibacterial activity among any one group (say the sulphona-mides) may be useful and valuable. In the same way the different types of chemical carcinogens probably have different modes of action. In these circumstances no structural relationship between the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the ethyl-eneimines, urethane and carbon tetrachloride, should be looked for. Nevertheless, the study of carcinogenic activity in a series of related aromatic amines may produce information of some importance, as may a similar study of a series of related ethyleneimines, and so on. It should be noted, however, that an observed structural relationship does not necessarily establish that two compounds produce the same biological action by the same mechanism. Most of the sulphonamides probably do have the same mode of action, but in spite of its structural similarity, p-sulphonamidobenzylamine is known to differ from sulphanilamide. Furthermore, among the carcinogenic azo-compounds, evidence is accumulating that compounds such as 1-phenylazo-2-naphthol and 2: 2'-azonaphthalene should be clearly distinguished from the amino-azo-compounds such as 4-dimethylaminoazo-benzene (Badger, Lewis and Reid, 1954). |
| Starting Page | 330 |
| Ending Page | 356 |
| Page Count | 27 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.1038/bjc.1956.40 |
| PubMed reference number | 13364126 |
| Journal | Medline |
| Volume Number | 10 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1956.40 |
| Journal | British Journal of Cancer |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
