Nutrition As A Factor In Carcinogenesis

Nia Rouseberg Author: Nia Rouseberg Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022
Nutrition As A Factor In Carcinogenesis

In this article, learn more about Nutrition As A Factor In Carcinogenesis. The process by which cellular changes lead to cancer is called carcinogenesis..

Cancer is considered a genetic disease that occurs through a gene mutation that is often caused by environmental carcinogens that damage DNA. If these DNA damage is not repaired before DNA replication, they lead to a mutation that is inherited from daughter cells and their subsequent offspring. Mutations that are thought to enhance cell independence, metastasis, and drug resistance are added, along with other characteristics commonly seen in advanced cancer.


The stages of initiation, promotion and progression of cancer by mutations suggest irreversibility , as reversible mutations are extremely rare. Thus, treatments are usually oriented toward removing or killing cancer cells through surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy.


However, there is empirical evidence to suggest that the development of cancer can be repeated or ruled out by non-mutagenic mechanisms , even completely, by changing nutrient consumption. This suggests that nutrients are more crucial to the development of different types of cancer than dietary factors. In some cases, nutrition controls and even reverses the development of the disease.



The process by which cellular changes lead to cancer is called carcinogenesis. Carcinogenesis has three somewhat arbitrary stages of development - initiation , promotion and progression , although these stages are mixed from one stage to another.


The initiation of carcinogenesis occurs at the site where the first genetic mutation occurs in the cell. The promotion is the division of this mutated cell into a tumor (clonal expansion), which is usually benign. After promotion, the tumor may progress and more genetic mutations may occur in the daughter cells. Through progression, a benign tumor becomes a malignant tumor .


The effect of nutrition on the initiation of the tumor process usually refers to its influence on the formation of mutations caused by chemical food carcinogens . This begins with the enzymatic activation of the carcinogen and ends with the formation of a mutated cell that is inherited from the cell progeny.

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