IARC-NCI workshop on an epidemiological toolkit to assess biases in human cancer studies for hazard identification: beyond the algorithm

The Monographs programme of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has, for more than 50 years, convened expert Working Groups to evaluate evidence regarding preventable causes of human cancer. Working Groups have evaluated more than a thousand agents, including chemicals, physical and biological agents, pharmaceuticals and nutritional factors, individual behaviours, complex mixtures and occupational exposure circumstances. Each agent was selected for evaluation based on there being some evidence of human exposure and the suspicion of carcinogenicity.1 Evidence considered in Monographs evaluations comprises studies of cancer in humans (usually observational cohort and case–control studies), experimental cancer bioassays and mechanistic studies. Findings in occupational cancer studies have crucially informed Monographs evaluations since the first volume.2 Monographs Working Groups have always recognised that cancer epidemiology studies are subject to potential biases that must be carefully considered before interpreting associations as causal. The Preamble to the IARC...
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research