Figure 7.

The potential long-term cytotoxic and carcinogenic effects of post-chronic Cd exposure on human lung cells. Post Cd-exposed cells have an aberrant DNA repair gene expression profile and reduced DNA repair capacity which can contribute to carcinogenesis. These post Cd-exposed cells are more sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs, which may represent a double-edged sword: on the one hand, post Cd-exposed cells are more sensitive to chemotherapy which is beneficial in terms of anticancer treatment; on the other hand, exposure to Cd may also make the patients that have to undergo chemotherapy more vulnerable to drug toxicity.