Using the Key Characteristics of Carcinogens to Develop Research on Chemical Mixtures and Cancer
Background: People are exposed to numerous chemicals throughout their lifetimes. Many of these chemicals display one or more of the key characteristics of carcinogens or interact with processes described in the hallmarks of cancer. Therefore, evaluating the effects of chemical mixtures on cancer development is an important pursuit. Challenges involved in designing research studies to evaluate the joint action of chemicals on cancer risk include the time taken to perform the experiments because of the long latency and choosing an appropriate experimental design.
Objectives: To present the case for developing a research program on mixtures of environmental chemicals and cancer risk and describe recommended approaches.
Methods: A working group comprising the co-authors focused attention on the design of mixtures studies to inform cancer risk assessment as part of a larger effort to refine the key characteristics of carcinogens and explore their application. Working group members reviewed the key characteristics of carcinogens, hallmarks of cancer, and mixtures research for other disease endpoints. The group discussed options for developing tractable projects to evaluate the joint effects of environmental chemicals on cancer development.
Results and Discussion: Three approaches for developing a research program to evaluate the effects of mixtures on cancer development were proposed: a disease-centered approach, a transgenic model-based approach, and a chemical screening approach. Advantages and disadvantages of each were discussed.