Iron In Carcinogenesis

"Control of iron stores for cancer prevention"

Role of iron in carcinogenesis: Cancer as a ferrotoxic disease.
Cancer Sci. 2008 Oct 23. [Epub ahead of print]
Toyokuni S.
Department of Pathology and Biological Responses, Graduate School of
Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.

Iron is abundant universally. During the evolutionary processes,
humans have selected iron as a carrier of oxygen inside the body.
However, iron works as a double-edged sword, and its excess is a risk
for cancer, presumably via generation of reactive oxygen species. Thus
far, pathological conditions such as hemochromatosis, chronic viral
hepatitis B and C, exposure to asbestos fibers, as well as
endometriosis have been recognized as iron overload-associated risks
for human cancer. Indeed, iron is carcinogenic in animal experiments.
These reports unexpectedly revealed that there are target genes in
iron-induced carcinogenesis and that iron-catalyzed oxidative DNA
damage is not random in vivo. Several iron transporters and hepcidin,
a peptide hormone regulating iron metabolism, were discovered in the
past decade. Furthermore, a recent epidemiological study reported that
iron reduction by phlebotomy decreased cancer risk in the apparently
normal population. These results warrant reconsideration of the role
of iron in carcinogenesis and suggest that fine control of body iron
stores would be a wise strategy for cancer prevention. (Cancer Sci
2008).

PMID: 19018762


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