Arsenic is one of the chemical pollutants, which is widely distributed in natural environment. International agency for research on cancer (IARC) has made it clear that arsenic and its compounds are carcinogens; endemic arseniasis has become a public health problem that seriously endangers human health. However, the arsenic metabolic and toxic effects of the species vary widely, failure to replicate a suitable carcinogenic model on animals, and there is no recognized carcinogenic mechanism. The author provide a brief review of arsenic metabolism, arsenic genotoxicity, arsenic-induced epigenetic changes, arsenic-induced changes in cell signaling pathways, arsenic and estrogen receptor expression, and arsenic immunotoxicity, to provide a reference for control and prevention of endemic arseniasis.

Arsenic; Cancer; Genotoxicity; Epigenetic changes