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Advance Biological Research

The assessment of health risks posed by exposure to pollutants has traditionally been performed differently depending upon whether cancer is the outcome induced. Scientists previously believed all cancer was caused by toxic substances altering a person's DNA and that substances which did not cause cancer induced their effects through a different mechanism. An implication of these beliefs was that different assumptions were made about the relationship between the dose and effects of carcinogens than for pollutants which caused effects other than cancer.

Scientific advances of the past several years suggest that these assumptions are not necessarily valid. It is now known that some carcinogens induce their effects in ways other than through direct damage to a person's DNA. Additionally, some toxic substances can cause effects that are both cancer and non-cancer. Consequently, it is important for scientists to understand how a substance causes an effect at the most basic chemical and biological levels regardless of whether the effect is cancer or a different type of illness.

Advancing biological research is a major focus of the Human Health Research Program in EPA's Office of Research and Development. The goal is to derive a consistent, flexible set of principles and guidelines for using and drawing inferences from scientific information when they conduct risk assessments.


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