Everything doesn't cause cancer: but how can we tell which things cause cancer and which ones don't? Rev. Feb. 1984.
1984
Answers to some commonly asked questions about the causes and prevention of cancer are provided in this brochure from the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Background information is provided on the development of cancer and the difference between direct and indirect carcinogens. Thirty chemical carcinogens identified by the federal National Toxicology Program are listed along with ways in which people can be exposed to them. The following questions related to laboratory animal testing of potential carcinogens are considered: 1) how well do animal tests predict whether or not an agent causes cancer in humans, 2) how are animal tests performed, 3) why are such high dosages used to predict cancer-causing potential, 4) why are different methods of exposure sometimes tested, 5) how should the development of benign tumors in test animals be interpreted, and 6) how should different test results in different animal species be interpreted. Additional questions consider whether or not threshold dosages can be established for safe levels of carcinogen exposure and how to estimate the magnitude of human cancer risk. Guidelines for reducing cancer risk are outlined.
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