Substances Causally Associated with Cancer

An increased awareness of the health effects of chemical exposures has led to a reduction of chemical exposures in the workplace and the environment While there are undoubtedly substances that are yet to be causally associated with cancCT, the number of substances like those described in Table 15.6 is unlikely to grow significantly in the next decade. So where does the future for cancer epidemiology Ue ... 

In humans methylene chloride exposure has been associated with a wide variety of cancers in a number of cohort and case control studies pancreatic, prostate, lung, liver, cervical, breast, and astrocytic brain tumors have been reported. Limitations in these studies include small sample size, incomplete exposure information, and concomitant exposure to other carcinogenic substances. The lARC has stated that there is not a sufficiently consistent elevation of risk across studies to make a causal interpretation credible. In a recent study of 1473 workers, followed for nearly 50 years, methylene chloride exposure level was not related to mortality due to all causes, malignant neoplasms, or lung and pancreatic cancers. ... 

---