Question

Mention the types of carcinogens with an example of each.

Answer 1

Hint:Carcinogens are substances which have the potential to cause a life threatening disease- cancer.

Complete answer:
Let us first understand what cancer is. Cancer is a life threatening disease which is caused due to abnormal or uncontrolled cell growth. The cell growth is generally termed as tumor, and they have the ability to spread to other parts of the body.
Cancer can be caused by any of the following factors,
 >Smoking, alcohol and tobacco
 >Diet and physical activity
 >Exposure to different types of radiation
 >Infections and viruses
 >It can also be caused due to genetic mutation in the gene
 >A few cancers are known as hereditary cancers, i.e. they are transferred from one generation to another

1)The different types of carcinogens are-
->Biological carcinogens
->Biological carcinogens or oncogenes are living organisms which have the potential to cause cancer. ->Examples include- Epstein-Barr virus, Human Papillomavirus, Hepatitis B virus, etc.

2)Physical carcinogens
->Physical carcinogens generally include different types of ionising and non ionising rays. They work by causing genetic mutation in the DNA.
->Examples include- X- rays, gamma rays, UV rays, etc

3)Chemical carcinogens
->Chemical carcinogens include chemicals which have the potential to cause cancer. The risk of developing cancer depends on how long, how often and how much and when the person was exposed by the chemicals.
->Examples include- Benzene, asbestos, arsenic, tobacco smoke, etc.

Note: There are three types of treatment available for cancer they are- Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy and Surgery.