Analysis of key characteristics of human carcinogens

This chapter analyzes the data on mechanisms of carcinogenesis compiled by IARC’s recent Review of Human Carcinogens. It identifies ten “key characteristics” of agents that cause cancer in humans.

Impact/Purpose

The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently completed an update and review of the more than 100 agents classified as carcinogenic to humans by the IARC Monographs programme since 1970. They used this new information to answer two questions that are important to the risk assessment of carcinogens: cancer-site concordance between humans and experimental animals, and the identification of mechanistic events that are either established or likely to occur during the development of cancer in humans. IARC has published these analyses as an IARC Scientific Publication on Tumour-Site Concordance and Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis.

Citation

Krewski, D., M. Al-Zoughool, M. Bird, N. Birkett, M. Billard, B. Milton, J. Rice, V. Cogliano, M. Hill, J. Little, AND J. Zielinski. Analysis of key characteristics of human carcinogens. Baan, R.A, B.W. Stewart, and K. Straif Tumour Site Concordance and Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis: IARC Scientific Publication No. 165. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, FRANCE257-282, (2019).

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK570329/