Promoter

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Promoters: a class of chemicals that promote the development of cancer. Usually the development of cancer is divided to the stages of initiation and promotion. Some chemicals may cause an error in the genetic message of a cell (see mutagenicity), and the cell will be transformed to a cancer cell. A single cancer cell will usually not develop to a full-blown cancer, unless other factors promote its growth and development. Promoters are a large class of chemicals that cause promotion by several mechanisms, the simplest is just a tissue damage that makes the cells divide to replace destroyed cells. Dioxin-like chemicals are strong promoters of cancer development, but they are not mutagenic.