Environmental Cancer (23)

Question 1

Definition of environment to cancer scientists:

Answer 1

everything outside the body that enters and interacts with it

Question 2

Researchers have estimated that as many as _____ cases of cancer are linked to some type of environmental factor, including use–or abuse–of tobacco, alcohol, and food, as well as exposures to radiation, viruses, and substances in the air, water, and soil.

Answer 2

2/3

Question 3

Almost _____ of all cancer deaths could be prevented by eliminating the use of tobacco products, for example, and making better dietary choices could prevent many more premature deaths from this disease

Answer 3

1/3

Question 4

exposure to asbestos is linked to which type of cancer?

Answer 4

lung

Question 5

exposure to benzidine is linked to which type of cancer?

Answer 5

bladder

Question 6

exposure to carcinogens from tobacco use is linked to which types of cancer?

Answer 6

lung, bladder, mouth, lip, throat, voice box, esophagus

Question 7

“_____ loads the gun… and _____ pulls the trigger.” – Francis Collins

Answer 7

Genetics, the environment

Question 8

Inheritance explains no more than _____% of new cancer cases.

Answer 8

5

Question 9

Factors that may change your cancer risk:

Answer 9

Inheritance, having a stronger/weaker immune system, variations in detoxifying enzymes or repair genes, differences in hormone levels

Question 10

True/False, faulty gene repair activities can pass from generation to generation.

Answer 10

True.

Question 11

Can detox proteins be hyperactive or slow?

Answer 11

Yes.

Question 12

The individual chance that someone will develop cancer in response to a particular, single environmental exposure depends on how ______ and how ____ that person was exposed. It also depends on the person’s:

• exposures to certain _____ (including diet, hormones)
• _______
• ____ and _____

Answer 12

long, often

environmental factors
genetic makeup
age and gender

Question 13

6 official nasties:

Answer 13

arsenic, lead, beryllium, nickel, cadmium, chromium

Question 14

Every two years, the Federal Government’s National Toxicology Program publishes a report on ______ that are linked to cancer (http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/). The recent report included ____ substances, some known to be linked, others strongly suspected of having an association.

Answer 14

environmental exposures

246

Question 15

cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoking have been linked to more than a dozen types of cancer, including these five:

Answer 15

lung, mouth, bladder, colon, kidney

Question 16

chewing tobacco and snuff increase the risk of…

Answer 16

oral cancer

Question 17

second-hand smoke increases the risk of…

Answer 17

lung cancer

Question 18

exposure to cancer-causing substances in tobacco products account for about ___% of cancer deaths in the United States

Answer 18

30

Question 19

_____ is the single most common cause of cancer

Answer 19

smoking

Question 20

the cancer risks of smoking and drinking have what type of relationship?

Answer 20

synergistic

Question 21

heavy drinkers have an increased risk of cancers to the ______

Answer 21

mouth, throat, voice box, liver, esophagus, some evidence of breast

Question 22

drinkers who smoke may have an even higher risk of some _______ and ______ cancers

Answer 22

oral and throat

Question 23

Being overweight is linked to which types of cancer?

Answer 23

breast, endometrial, kidney, colon, esophagus

Question 24

Not being physically active increases the risk of which types of cancers?

Answer 24

colorectal, breast

Question 25

Together, obesity and physical activity are linked to about ___% of the cases of colon, endometrial, kidney, and esophageal cancers, as well as ___% of breast cancers in older women.

Answer 25

30, 30

Question 26

What types of foods probably increase the risk of stomach and colorectal cancers?

Answer 26

red meat, preserved meats, salt-preserved meats, salt

Question 27

Viruses (4) that are risk factors for cancer (and which types):

Answer 27

human papillomavirus (HPV) (cervical, anal), Hepatitis B and C (liver), Epstein-Barr (lymphoma), human herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's sarcoma)

Question 28

Bacteria that can be cause for cancer:

Answer 28

Helicobacter pylori- stomach

Question 29

UV radiation can lead to which types of cancer?

Answer 29

melanoma, other forms of skin cancer

Question 30

True or false, exposure during childhood is a particularly important factor that increases skin cancer risk.

Answer 30

True

Question 31

Sources of ionizing radiation:

Answer 31

cosmic rays, radon, fallout from atomic bombs or above-ground nuclear testing, screening or diagnostic X-rays

Question 32

Radon is linked to which type of cancer?

Answer 32

lung cancer

Question 33

Japanese atomic bomb survivors had increased rates of cancers of the:

Answer 33

breast, thyroid, lung, stomach, and other organs

Question 34

True or false, getting an X-ray to diagnose a disease or condition increases your personal cancer risk

Answer 34

false; only your baby if you're pregnant

Question 35

Those who receive radiation to treat conditions of the head or neck have increased risks of which types of cancers?

Answer 35

thyroid, tumors of the head and neck

Question 36

Which two hormones, when given to women to treat the symptoms of menopause, have been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer?

Answer 36

estrogen and progesterone

Question 37

Estrogen alone increases the risk of which type of cancer, which the combination with progesterone then decreases?

Answer 37

endometrial

Question 38

Women who take oral contraceptives, which contain both estrogen and progestin, may have increases in early-onset _____ cancers and ____ cancer, but have substantially reduced risks of ____ and ____ cancers.

Answer 38

breast, liver endometrial, ovarian

Question 39

The synthetic hormone ____ is used in breast cancer therapies to prevent recurrence of disease or to prevent onset in women at high risk for this cancer, but it may increase the risk of _____ cancer, strokes, and blood clots.

Answer 39

tamoxifen, endometrial

Question 40

_____ is another synthetic hormone that was prescribed to pregnant women in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Its use was discontinued after scientists discovered that women taking it had an increased risk of breast cancer, and that girls born to women taking it had an increased risk of rare types of vaginal and cervical cancer. Most physical or structural differences associated with exposure are found in the reproductive tract, including a “hood” or collar on the cervix and a T-shaped uterus.

Answer 40

DES (diethylstilbestrol)

Question 41

The strongest evidence linking a solvent to cancer involves _____, which is also found in cigarette smoke and gasoline. It increases the risk of ______. If you must work with solvents, work outside or make sure the area is _____.

Answer 41

benzene, leukemia, well-ventilated

Question 42

Asbestos is linked to increased risks of ______ cancer and ______.

Answer 42

lung cancer and mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the lining of the lung and abdominal cavity)

Question 43

Workers in which industries may still be exposed to asbestos?

Answer 43

construction, electrical work, carpentry

Question 44

What can be stored in fat, for which losing weight can release?

Answer 44

dioxins

Question 45

Dioxins are byproducts of which processes?

Answer 45

paper bleaching, smelting, and waste incineration

Question 46

which compounds come from the burning of carbon-based material?

Answer 46

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Question 47

PAHs have been linked to increased risks of which cancer types?

Answer 47

lung, skin, urinary

Question 48

Lead poisoning potentially leads to which types of cancers?

Answer 48

Kidney, brain

Question 49

Lead is present in which materials?

Answer 49

cotton dyes, metal coating, drier in paints, varnishes and pigment inks, certain plastics, specialty glass

Question 50

What carcinogen is used in the plastic industry and has been associated with lung cancer and angiosarcomas of the liver and brain?

Answer 50

vinyl chloride

Question 51

What carcinogen is used in the production of dyes for paper, textiles, and leather?

Answer 51

benzidine

Question 52

Aflotixins are produced by ____ and increase the risk of ____ cancer.

Answer 52

certain types of fungi that grow on grains and peanuts, liver

Question 53

Three types of studies that can help to identify cancer-causing substances, and the fourth type?

Answer 53

human studies, animal studies, laboratory studies, structure-activity relationships

Question 54

The type of study that is the way to decide with the most certainty whether a substance causes cancer.

Answer 54

Human studies.

Question 55

How does a human study work?

Answer 55

By following groups of people over time to see whether certain exposures lead to cancer, and comparing a group of people with cancer to another without.

Question 56

Animal studies: mice and rats are used why?

Answer 56

relatively short lifespan, bodily response to cancer-causing chemicals is similar to a human response

Question 57

Which type of study is often done to see whether or not animal studies are needed?

Answer 57

laboratory studies of human cells

Question 58

Risk assessment involves which three factors?

Answer 58

potency, type of exposure, dose response

Question 59

Types of cancer to screen for and type of test:

Answer 59

1. colon/rectum: fecal occult blood test, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy 2. breast: mammogram 3. cervix: Pap smear

Question 60

Over a lifetime, a person’s __________ persistently interacts with many _______ such as diet, smoking, alcohol use, hormone levels, or exposures to certain viruses and cancer-linked chemicals (called carcinogens).

Answer 60

internal genetic makeup external factors