RT Book, Section
A1 Harrington, Lea
A1 Bristow, Robert G.
A1 Hill, Richard P.
A1 Tannock, Ian F.
A2 Tannock, Ian F.
A2 Hill, Richard P.
A2 Bristow, Robert G.
A2 Harrington, Lea
SR Print(0)
ID 1127471111
T1 Introduction to Cancer Biology
T2 The Basic Science of Oncology, 5e
YR 2016
FD 2016
PB McGraw-Hill Education Medical
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071745208
LK hemonc.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1127471111
RD 2024/04/24
AB One  of  the  first  scientific  investigations  into  the  cause  of  cancer  dates  from  1775,  when  Sir  Percival  Pott  carried  out  an  epidemiological  study  and  suggested  that  the  causative  agent  of  scrotal  cancer  in  young  chimney  sweeps  in  the  United  Kingdom  might  be  chimney  soot  (now  known  to  be  tar).  Frequent  washing  and  changing  of  clothing  that  trapped  the  soot  was  recommended  so  as  to  reduce  exposure  to  the  "carcinogen"  (see  Chap.  4).  Not  only  did  Pott's  study  identify  a  putative  carcinogenic  agent  but  it  also  demonstrated  that  a  cancer  may  develop  years  after  exposure.  One  other  dramatic  example  is  mesothelioma,  which  is  a  rare  lung  cancer  that  develops  decades  after  exposure  to  asbestos.  A  third  epidemiological  example  is  the  identification  of  tobacco  smoke  as  a  major  environmental  cause  of  cancer.  Doll  and  Hill  (1950)  showed  that  cigarette  smoking  is  causative  in  lung  cancer:  heavy  smokers  older  than  the  age  of  50  years  have  a  1  in  2  chance  of  dying  from  a  smoking-related  disease  such  as  lung  cancer  (see  Chap.  3).  On  the  positive  side,  individuals  who  quit  smoking  exhibit  a  gradual  return  to  a  near-normal  risk  of  lung  cancer  after  a  10-  to  15-year  smoke-free  period.  These  and  other  studies  underscore  the  possibility  that,  with  some  types  of  cancer,  a  degree  of  prevention  may  be  achieved  via  changes  in  lifestyle.