[Assessment of carcinogenic activity of industrial toxicants in occupational epidemiological surveys]

Evaluation of cancer morbidity and mortality from workplace exposure to industrial toxicants is a main avenue of research aimed to identify causes of human cancer. Many chemicals classified as carcinogens by International Agency for Cancer Research were first identified at workplaces. However, the value of these findings for the study of carcinogens in the occupational environment was compromised for a variety of reasons. A major methodological problem is to elucidate the cause-and effect relationship between inhomogeneous exposure to industrial pollution and cancer morbidity/mortality rates in different categories of workers. Another important problem in occupational epidemiology is the deficiency of data on the exposure level in women because reproductive organs are specific targets of certain chemicals and their carcinogenic effects are especially well apparent as gynecological diseases. Moreover gender-specific differences account for different risks and outcomes of apparently similar environmental exposure.