Risk assessment oncogenic viruses

There is a complex interplay in the oncogenic virus-host relationship that complicates the study of these viruses as well as the assessment of the risk associated with working with them. Many of the tumor viruses appear to be benign in their natural host, but are oncogenic in a heterologous species. Some viruses may not cause a neoplasm or tumor in their natural host species under normal conditions, but, at times, stress or immuno-... 

The evaluation of the risks associated with cancer virus research is extremely difficult, since we lack much scientific data on such vital characteristics as agent host range, infec-tivity, host susceptibility, and infectious dose (see Section 11.2). Because the potential consequences of accidental inoculation of laboratory workers with oncogenic viruses are so serious, standards have been developed for work with these agents (476, 477). The technique of risk assessment, which classifies both agents and experimental procedures on the basis of their relative hazards, is very useful for assigning particular ents into hazard categories based upon available data. 

In assessing the risk for laboratory workers of developing an occupationally acquired cancer from handling oncogenic viruses, the interaction of three elements—the person, the experimental procedure, and the agent—must be evaluated to give a clearer picture of the overall relative hazard. 

The characteristics of the agent comprise the third element in assessment of risk. Oncogenic agents are classified according to risk based upon criteria established from the evaluation of animal data. The assumption is made that the infectious dose for an animal is related to the hypothetical human infectious dose. For purposes of risk assessment the risk criteria for oncogenic viruses are divided into three categories high, moderate, and low. 

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