[Evaluation of the carcinogenic risk of environmental chemicals]

Many carcinogens have been detected in our environment, and chemicals which have been shown to induce cancers in experimental animals have been largely eliminated. However, there are still many chemicals which have not been studied in rodent carcinogenicity tests. In this paper, we review the evaluation of carcinogenic risk of environmental chemicals to humans. Carcinogenic risk to humans is evaluated primarily in three different phases: carcinogenicity studies in animal experiments, in vitro short-term screening studies, and finally human epidemiological studies. There are 30 chemicals, processes or industries which have been subject to these three phases and determined to be carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Carcinogenic risk of chemicals should be evaluated quantitatively by their threshold doses, TD50 and virtually safe dose (VSD). Furthermore, the target organ of the carcinogen should also be taken into account, which has been emphasized by the demonstration of carcinogenicity of BHA in the forestomach of rats. Summational, synergistic, antagonistic and inhibitory effects of chemicals should also be discussed. It is important to establish a guideline for detecting and eliminating environmental carcinogens in order to prevent cancer in humans.