Nelson Heather H, Kelsey Karl T
Environmental Epidemiology Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, MA 02115, USA.
Oncogene. 2002 Oct 21;21(48):7284-8. doi: 10.1038/sj.onc.1205804.
Asbestos is a well-known toxin and lung carcinogen. Epidemiologic studies have established tobacco smoke and asbestos exposures synergistically interact to enhance lung cancer risk. The biologic mechanism responsible for this interaction has been the subject of considerable debate. Studies have suggested that asbestos may act as a carcinogen by generating free radical and reactive oxygen species, by inducing tissue injury and subsequent cellular growth, via large-scale chromosome loss and by enhancing delivery of tobacco carcinogens to the respiratory epithelium. Recent molecular epidemiologic approaches further suggest that asbestos enhances the mutagenicity of tobacco carcinogens and that it acts, at least in part, independent of the tissue damage responsible for fibrosis.
石棉是一种广为人知的毒素和肺癌致癌物。流行病学研究表明，接触烟草烟雾和石棉会产生协同作用，增加肺癌风险。这种相互作用的生物学机制一直是相当多争论的主题。研究表明，石棉可能通过产生自由基和活性氧、诱导组织损伤及随后的细胞生长、导致大规模染色体丢失以及增强烟草致癌物向呼吸道上皮的传递而充当致癌物。最近的分子流行病学方法进一步表明，石棉会增强烟草致癌物的致突变性，并且它至少部分地独立于导致纤维化的组织损伤起作用。
