Carcinogenesis · Pathology

Ultraviolet (UVB) radiation causes carcinogenesis primarily through which mechanism?

  1. Formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  2. Formation of pyrimidine dimers in DNA
  3. Induction of chromosome translocations
  4. Direct breakage of the sugar-phosphate backbone
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Correct answer: Formation of pyrimidine dimers in DNA

UVB light is absorbed by DNA, causing the formation of covalent bonds between adjacent pyrimidines (usually thymine). If the Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) system fails to fix these dimers, mutations occur during DNA replication.

Difficulty: Medium Question 13 of 20

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