[Role of epidemiology in the evaluation of carcinogenic risks in occupational environment]

There are in use today tens of thousands of chemical substances whose potential carcinogenic risks are often not known. The IARC monographs on the evaluation of the carcinogenic risk for man from environmental substances have shown that, for 707 substances or exposures studied, 36 have been identified as associated with a risk of cancer and only 60 have been submitted to epidemiologic studies. Estimating the number of cancers attributable to occupational factor must be envisaged from a preventive viewpoint. If one uses an average and reasonable estimate in France of 10%, the number of cancers of occupational origin could be considered to be approximately 22,000 new cases each year.