Response of homozygous and heterozygous xeroderma pigmentosum cells to several chemical and viral carcinogens.

The topics discussed include the relationship between the carcinogenic property of various compounds and their capacity to elicit DNA damage that results in a DNA repair synthesis; the metabolic activation of precarcinogens; the in vivo use of DNA repair synthesis in the identification of tissues that will give rise to neoplasms; the possible involvement of DNA repair in the sensitivity of human cells to the chromosome-damaging and lethal effect of chemical carcinogens; the different responses of homozygous xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) cells, heterozygous XP cells, and controls to some but not all chemical carcinogens and oncogenic viruses; and the possible link between DNA damage, its repair, and viral-induced neoplastic transformation.