Arsenic exposure potentiates lung cancer formation in smokers.

2004 JUN 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Arsenic exposure potentiates lung cancer formation in smokers.

"Concomitant exposures to arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) are widespread. While BaP acts by binding to and inducing mutations in critical sites on DNA, the mechanism(s) of arsenic carcinogenesis remains unknown. Data from epidemiological studies of arsenic copper smelter workers and arsenic ingestion in drinking water suggest a positive interaction for arsenic exposure and smoking and lung cancer," scientists in the United States report.

"A previous in vitro study showed that arsenic potentiated the …