Thorling E B
Department of Nutrition and Cancer, Danish Cancer Society, Aarhus.
Eur J Cancer Prev. 1993 Mar;2(2):95-103. doi: 10.1097/00008469-199303000-00002.
It has been widely believed that the majority of cancers in humans were caused by exposure to environmental carcinogens. The pronounced variation in incidence rates of specific cancers from one country to another was explained by a variation in the load of carcinogens to which people were exposed from the sea of carcinogens in which they lived. This native and simple point of view can no longer be upheld. It is becoming evident that this theory cannot quantitatively explain the observed occurrence of cancer. Variations in the intake of compounds with anticarcinogenic effects might just as well be made responsible for a major part of the variation in cancer incidence. A review is given of this emerging field and it is argued that the study of anticarcinogens may allow us to reach a more balanced concept of the causative network in human cancer. It should also equip us with better means for more effective cancer prevention.
人们普遍认为，人类的大多数癌症是由接触环境致癌物引起的。特定癌症发病率在不同国家之间存在显著差异，这被解释为人们在其生活的致癌物海洋中接触到的致癌物负荷有所不同。这种朴素的观点已不再成立。越来越明显的是，该理论无法定量解释所观察到的癌症发生情况。具有抗癌作用的化合物摄入量的差异，很可能同样是导致癌症发病率差异的主要原因。本文对这一新兴领域进行了综述，并认为对抗癌物质的研究可能使我们对人类癌症病因网络有更平衡的认识。它还应为我们提供更好的手段，以更有效地预防癌症。
