Novel aspects of oxidative stress-associated carcinogenesis.

Oxidative stress is associated with carcinogenesis. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species contribute to the accumulation of mutations in the genome, presumably followed by selective processes. Recent data suggest that preferred signaling pathways exist for oxidative stress-associated carcinogenesis. Whether this completely depends on random mutations induced by reactive species or whether instead some fragile genomic loci are sensitive to oxidative damage in association with changes of transcriptional activity or other topologic or nontopologic effects remains to be explored. Reliable markers for oxidative stress as well as for oxidative stress-induced preneoplastic lesions must be established.