Molecular epidemiology: on the path to prevention?

Area of Science:

• Molecular epidemiology
• Cancer prevention
• Environmental health

Background:

• Molecular epidemiology has focused on cancer prevention for 17 years.
• Key environmental exposures include tobacco smoke, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aflatoxin B(1), benzene, and hepatitis B virus.
• These exposures are linked to lung, breast, liver cancers, and leukemia.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate progress in cancer prevention through molecular epidemiology.
• Examine the role of specific environmental agents in various cancers.
• Identify contributions of molecular epidemiology to understanding cancer risks and prevention.

Main Methods:

• Review of well-studied environmental exposures and their association with cancer.
• Analysis of molecular epidemiologic data to establish causal roles and identify high-risk populations.
• Discussion of environment-susceptibility interactions.

Main Results:

• Molecular epidemiology provides evidence for carcinogenic risks of environmental agents.
• It helps establish causal links and identify susceptible populations, including children.
• Research findings are not yet effectively translated into risk assessments and preventive policies.

Conclusions:

• Effective cancer prevention requires translating molecular epidemiologic research into actionable policies.
• Future research should involve large-scale, collaborative studies with biomarkers and automated technologies.
• An infrastructure is needed to link scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders to facilitate translation.