Assessment of cancer hazard from environmental pollution in Silesia

New concepts of cancer risk estimation have been developed during the past decade. Short-term bioassays dealing with mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of environmental samples are being replaced by more relevant molecular epidemiology studies. The general idea of using a battery of bioassays remains unchanged while the origin of tested samples is different. Instead of testing samples collected from the environment, body fluids or human cells from exposed populations are under investigation. This paper reviews the collaborative study on cancer risk assessment in highly polluted industrial region of Silesia in which both approaches had been employed during the 1985-1995 period. A potent carcinogenic activity of airborne pollutants was indicated in a battery of in vitro and in vivo short-term assays. These studies were followed by the molecular epidemiology study performed on human populations inhabiting the region of Silesia. An elevated damage of genetic material on the chromosome and/or DNA levels was observed in the Silesian populations as compared with proper rural controls.