Identification of chemicals carcinogenic to man

Although both the epidemiologic and experimental studies have led to the identification of chemical carcinogens, the limitations in epidemiologic approaches and the need for primary prevention of cancer require a greater reliance on experimental studies. Long-term carcinogenicity studies in experimental animals have been instrumental in identifying chemicals with carcinogenic activity, and, in some cases, the experimental evidence has preceded the epidemiologic evidence (for 4-aminobiphenyl, aflatoxin B1, diethylstilbestrol, melphalan, mustard gas, and vinyl chloride). A better understanding of the multistage process of carcinogenesis and the findings from various short-term tests available more recently may provide a more solid basis for extrapolating experimental findings to man.