Does cancer contain carcinogens?
Sometimes. For example, IIRC, mesothelioma, a cancer associated with asbestos exposure through inhalation, occurs where asbestos particles have lodged in tissue surrounding the lung. Of course the amount of asbestos in the tumor is likely to be tiny. Perhaps a better example is Rous Sarcoma Virus. In 1960, Francis Peyton Rous “…found that he could transmit a sarcoma (cancerous tumor) from one Plymouth rock hen to another by using an injection of tumor filtrate.” (from the 1998 Grolier’s Multimedia Encyclopedia).
Some do. As mentioned previously, asbestos-induced mesothelioma can contain asbestos particles. Specifically, “ferruginous asbestos bodies” which are eensy-weensy* dumbbell-shaped things with an asbestos fiber at their core. However, asbestos bodies are not necessarily going to be found in the cancer, but are going to be found in the cancer’s presence.
Other cancers are caused by items or agents that are not retained anywhere in the body. Radiation is a good example of this. It hits cells, sets off a cancerous reaction, and by the time a cancer is detected, the original dose of radiation has been long-gone from the body.
- Yes, eensy-weensy is a technical term. The asbestos fibers that get down into lungs and cause trouble are nearly atomic in size - 5-25 microns. The resulting asbestos bodies don’t get much larger.