I’m wondering what happens on a cell level. Why does exposure to something cause cancer but something else won’t?
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Cancer is a very specific glitch in a cell. It is enough to turn the cell “evil”, but not enough to kill it, and not enough to make it weird enough for immune system to go after it.
Generally, carcinogenic substances is something that damages cells, and would kill them in a high dose, but in mild dose it just causes that glitch.
PS the “evil glitch” is that cell refuses to die when it needs to be replaced, and replicates itself when the body does not need it to happen. Healthy cells act in the interest of entire body, cancer sell is selfish.
There are genes in your DNA that controll things like how a cell grows and how often a cell divides. There are many different genes for this because its a complex process and it involves tons of check points and fail safes
Carcinogens are molecules that damage DNA and therefore can damage these genes. When enough are mutated then you run the risk of cancer.
Lot of times, the body is able to catch the mutated cell and kill it. This is why you dont get cancer the first time you smoke or go out in the sun for a day. Its when a critical amount of genes are mutated that the body fails to recognize it (cell literally learns how to hide from the immune system) that you run the risk for cancer.
This is also why all cancers are different, they stem from different gene mutations that eventually all lead to the same end result.
There are a few ways that carcinogens can cause cancer. Some substances directly cause changes to the DNA inside the cell. The damage to that DNA then causes that DNA to become abnormal and not continue to function normally, such as to give the signal to stop reproducing when not needed. This can eventually leads to the development of cancer. Other carcinogens might cause cancer more indirectly. When damage occurs to a cell’s DNA (i.e., through a sunburn that damages skin cells), the body has to perform repair processes to try to fix the damage. Sometimes the damage caused by the carcinogen interferes with the ability of the repair work, which has caused mutations in the function of those cells. The body is then unable to repair the damage, leading to cancer development. A number of viruses, environmental pollutants, radiation, medical treatments, and other things are known carcinogens. Some can be avoided (like tobacco or alcohol consumption) and others cannot (like getting older or your genetics). People also have genetic propensities to develop cancer in response to carcinogens or even without any other risk factors present. So a number of things just don’t damage DNA or interrupt the cell reproduction process, while a number of other things do (like polluted air, asbestos dust in the lungs, or radiation from the sun, medical procedures, or nuclear fallout).
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