Zeitschrift für klinische und experimentelle Pathologie

Abstrakt

A Brief Review of the Controversial Role of Iron in Colorectal Carcinogenesis

Margaret Cho, Ogechukwu P Eze and Ruliang Xu

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is the second and third most common cancer in females and males worldwide,
respectively. Major risk factors have been established for the development of CRC. These include susceptible
genetics, increased age (50 years), male gender, and race. The role of environmental factors in CRC pathogenesis
is evident but complex. Some environmental factors linked to CRC pathogenesis include diet, specifically red meat,
refined grains and starches, sugars, fat, alcohol, and chemicals. Implicated chemicals include arsenic, chromium,
nickel and iron. This article briefly reviews the evidence for the controversial role of iron in pathogenesis of CRC.
Proposed mechanisms for iron carcinogenesis involve various genetic and metabolic pathways, illustrating the
complex interplay of genetic and metabolic alterations in chemical carcinogenesis