Question

Can anyone explain to me why is Benzene C6H6 cancerogenic?

Answer 1

you can read at the American cancer society how it is determined that is cancerigenic

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/benzene
a more deep work propose a mechanism (see attachment)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22166497


Does benzene cause cancer?
Benzene is known to cause cancer, based on evidence from studies in both people and lab animals. The link between benzene and cancer has largely focused on leukemia and cancers of other blood cells.

What do studies show?

Researchers use 2 main types of studies to try to determine if a substance causes cancer. (A substance that causes cancer or helps cancer grow is called a carcinogen.)

One type of study looks at cancer rates in different groups of people. Such a study might compare the cancer rate in a group exposed to a substance versus either the cancer rate in a group not exposed to it, or the cancer rate in the general population. But studies in people can sometimes be hard to interpret, because there might be other factors affecting the results that are hard to account for.

In studies done in the lab, animals are exposed to a substance (often in very large doses) to see if it causes tumors or other health problems. Researchers may also expose normal cells in a lab dish to the substance to see if it causes the types of changes that are seen in cancer cells. But it’s not always clear if the results from these types of studies will apply to humans.

Often neither type of study provides conclusive evidence on its own, so researchers usually look at both human and lab-based studies if they are available.

Studies in people

Rates of leukemia, particularly acute myeloid leukemia (AML), have been found to be higher in studies of workers exposed to high levels of benzene, such as those in the chemical, shoemaking, and oil refining industries.

Some studies have also suggested links to childhood leukemia (particularly AML) as well as acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and other blood-related cancers (such as multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma) in adults. However, the evidence is not as strong for these cancers.

There is much less evidence linking benzene to any other type of cancer.

Studies done in the lab

Benzene has been studied for its ability to cause cancer in lab animals such as rats and mice. When inhaled or swallowed, benzene has been found to cause different types of tumors in lab animals. These results support the finding of an excess risk of leukemia in humans. However, most studies in humans have not found an increased risk of cancers other than leukemia among people with higher exposures.

Benzene has been shown to cause chromosome changes in bone marrow cells in the lab. (The bone marrow is where new blood cells are made.) Such changes are commonly found in human leukemia cells.

Answer 2

Keep in mind that most organics are carcinogenic (cancer causing).

Answer 3

Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the chemical formula C6H6. Its molecule is composed of 6 carbon atoms joined in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom. Because its molecules contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms, benzene is classed as a hydrocarbon.

Benzene is a natural constituent of crude oil, and is one of the most elementary petrochemicals. Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon and the second [n]-annulene ([6]-annulene), a cyclic hydrocarbon with a continuous pi bond. It is sometimes abbreviated Ph–H. Benzene is a colorless and highly flammable liquid with a sweet smell. It is mainly used as a precursor to heavy chemicals, such as ethylbenzene and cumene, which are produced on a billion kilogram scale. Because it has a high octane number, it is an important component of gasoline, comprising a few percent of its mass. Most non-industrial applications have been limited by benzene's carcinogenicity.