title: Oxygen: our major carcinogen?
abstract: Evidence has accumulated implicating that atmospheric oxygen can be considered as an important environmental mutagen, whose action can be potentiated by a variety of environmental factors. Under normal conditions oxygen genotoxicity is largely prevented by a cellular antioxygenic defense system, which must be extremely efficient, but might not be entirely safe. A better understanding of this defense system may help to suggest how the incidence of carcinogenesis can be minimized.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental / Q000633:toxicity*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D006801:Humans; D009153:Mutagens; D010100:Oxygen / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D009153:Mutagens; D010100:Oxygen