Do some of these carcinogens also act as teratogens and cause birth defects?
A. That’s not really known. Dioxins, which are chemically very similar to PAHs, do cause birth defects. For example, dioxin causes cleft palate. So the carcinogens we study probably could cause birth defects, but we haven’t found many relevant studies. Q. How common are childhood cancers and what kinds of cancers do children develop? A. The two most common types of cancer in children are leukemias and lymphomas, which are cancers of the blood, followed by brain tumors or cancers of the nervous system. Those are the major cancers in children, but cancer in children is not common. Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children up to the age of about 15. The most frequent cause of death in children is accidents, followed by cancer. Q. How do you study this problem? A. We use a mouse model. Pregnant mice are treated with an oral dose of the carcinogen about two or three days before they would give birth so there’s ample time for the carcinogen to cross the placenta. Almost all
