Cancer-prone oxyradical overload disease

Abstract

Oxyradical overload disease develops in conditions involving chronic inflammation and may be of inherited etiology, e.g. haemochromatosis and Wilson disease, be acquired, e.g. infection with hepatitis B or C virus or Helicobactor pylori, or be chemically induced, e.g. acid reflux in Barrett oesophagus. Susceptibility to cancer is frequently a pathological consequence of extensive oxyradical damage that leads to a cycle of cell death and regeneration and causes mutations in cancer-related genes. In this brief review, we focus on the possible interactive effects of nitric oxide and the p53 tumour suppressor gene in human carcinogenesis.