Studies | Environment

No. 214
Sunday, March 01, 1998
by Bruce N. Ames and Lois Swirsky Gold

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
2. Clearing Up Cancer Misconceptions
3. Misconception #1: Cancer Rates Are Soaring
4. Misconception #2: Environmental Synthetic Chemicals Are An Important Cause of Human Cancer
5. Misconception #3: Reducing Pesticide Residues Is an Effective Way to Prevent Diet-Related Cancer The Program in Action
6. Misconception #4: Identification of Carcinogenic Chemicals Should Be the Primary Strategy for Preventing Human Cancer
7. Misconception #5: Human Exposures to Carcinogens and Other Potential Hazards Are Nearly All Due to Synthetic Chemicals
8. Misconception #6: Cancer Risks to Humans Can Be Assessed By Standard High-Dose Animal Cancer Tests
9. Misconception #7: Synthetic Chemicals Pose Greater Carcinogenic Hazards than Natural Chemicals
10. Misconception #8: The Toxicology of Synthetic Chemicals Is Different from That of Natural Chemicals
11. Misconception #9: Pesticides and Other Synthetic Chemicals Are Disrupting Hormones
12. Misconception #10: Regulation of Low, Hypothetical Risks Is Effective in Advancing Public Health
13. Appendix
14. Notes
15. About the Authors

Notes

1. Ries, L. A. G., Kosary, C. L., Hankey, B. F., Miller, B. A., Harras, A. & Edwards, B. K. (1997) SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1973-1994 (National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.).
2. Devesa, S., Blot, W. J., Stone, B. J., Miller, B. A., Tarone, R. E. & Fraumeni, F. J., Jr. (1995) Journal of the National Cancer Institute 87, 175-82; Doll, R. & Peto, R. (1981) Journal of the National Cancer Institute 66, 1191-1308; and Ames et al. (1995).
3. Bailar, I., J C & Gornik, H. L. (1997) New England Journal of Medicine 336, 1569-1574.
4. Gold, L. S., Slone, T. H., Stern, B. R., Manley, N. B. & Ames, B. N. (1992) Science 258, 261-65; and Ames, B. N., Gold, L. S. & Willett, W. C. (1995) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 92, 5258-65.
5. Gold et al. (1992); National Research Council (1996) Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in the Human Diet: A Comparison of Naturally Occurring and Synthetic Substances (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.); and Gold, L.S. & Zeiger, E. (1997) Handbook of Carcinogenic Potency and Genotoxicity Databases (CRC Press, Baco Raton, FL).
6. Gough, M. (1990) Risk Analysis 10, 1-6.
7. Ames et al. (1995).
8. Gold, L. S., Garfinkel, G. B. & Slone, T. H. (1994) in Chemical Risk Assessment and Occupational Health, Current Applications, Limitations, and Future Prospects, eds. Smith, C. M., Christiani, D. C. & Kelsey, K. T. (Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, Conn.), pp. 91-103.
9. Ames, B. N., Shigenaga, M. K. & Hagen, T. M. (1993) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 90, 7915-22.
10. Ibid.
11. Hagen, T. M., Yowe, D. L., Bartholomew, J. C., Wehr, C. M., Do, K. L., Park, J.-Y. & Ames, B. N. (1997) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 94, 3064-69.
12. Helbock, H. J., Beckman, K. B., Shigenaga, M. K., Walter, P., Woodall, A. A., Yeo, H. C. & Ames, B. N. (1997) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 95, 288-93.
13. Rice-Evans, C., Sampson, J., Bramley, P. & Holloway, D. (1997) Free Radical Research 26, 381-98.
14. Devesa et al. (1995); and Peto, R., Lopez, A. D., Boreham, J., Thun, M. & Heath, C., Jr. (1994) Mortality from Smoking in Developed Countries 1950-2000 (Oxford University Press, Oxford, England).
15. Fraga, C. G., Motchnik, P. A., Shigenaga, M. K., Helbock, H. J., Jacob, R. A. & Ames, B. N. (1991) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 88, 11003-06; Ames, B. N., Motchnik, P. A., Fraga, C. G., Shigenaga, M. K. & Hagen, T. M. (1994) in Male-Mediated Developmental Toxicity, eds. Mattison, D. R. & Olshan, A. (Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York), pp. 243-59; and Fraga, C. G., Motchnik, P. A., Wyrobek, A. J., Rempel, D. M. & Ames, B. N. (1996) Mutation Research 351, 199-203.
16. Fraga et al. (1996).
17. Wyrobek, A. J., Rubes, J., Cassel, M., Moore, D., Perrault, S., Slott, V., Evenson, D., Zudova, Z., Borkovec, L., Selevan, S. & Lowe, X. (1995) American Journal of Human Genetics 57, 737.
18. Fraga et al. (1991); Ames et al. (1994) in Mattison & Olshan, eds.; and Woodall, A. A. & Ames, B. N. (1997) in Preventative Nutrition: The Comprehensive Guide for Health Professionals, eds. Bendich, A. Decklbaum, R.J. (Humana Press, Totowa, NJ), pp. 373-385.
19. Ji, B.-T., Shu, X.-O., Linet, M. S., Zheng, W., Wacholder, S., Gao, Y.-T., Ying, D.-M. & Jin, F. (1997) Journal of the National Cancer Institute 89, 238-244.
20. Doll, R. & Peto, R. (1981).
21. Ames et al. (1995); Hart, R., Keenan, K., Turturro, A., Abdo, K., Leakey, J. & Lyn-Cook, B. (1995) Fundamentals of Applied Toxicology, 184-95; and Turturro, A., Duffy, P., Hart, R. & Allaben, W. (1996) Toxicological Pathology 24, 769-75.
22. Ames et al. (1995); Christen, S., Hagen, T. M., Shigenaga, M. K. & Ames, B. N. (1998) in Microbes and Malignancy: Infection as a Cause of Cancer, eds. Parsonnet, J. & Horning, S. (Oxford University Press, Oxford), pp. in press.
23. Shacter, E., Beecham, E. J., Covey, J. M., Kohn, K. W. & Potter, M. (1988) Carcinogenesis 9, 2297-2304; and Yamashina, K., Miller, B. E. & Heppner, G. H. (1986) Cancer Research 46, 2396-2401.
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26. Ibid.; and Hunter, D. J. & Willett, W. C. (1993) Epidemiologic Reviews 15, 110-132.
27. Ames et al. (1995); Ames et al. (1993) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
28. Block, G., Patterson, B. & Subar, A. (1992) Nutrition and Cancer 18, 1-29; Steinmetz, K. A. & Potter, J. D. (1996) Journal of the American Dietary Association 96, 1027-39; and Hill, M. J., Giacosa, A. & Caygill, C. P. J. (1994) Epidemiology of Diet and Cancer (Ellis Horwood Limited, West Sussex, England).
29. Krebs-Smith, S.M., Cook, A., Subar, A. F., Cleveland, L., Friday, J., and Kahle, L. L. (1996) Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 150, 81-6; and Krebs-Smith, S. M., Cook, A., Subar, A. F., Cleveland, L., and Friday, J. (1995) American Journal of Public Health 85, 1623-29.
30. A National Cancer Institute Graphic (1996) Journal of the National Cancer Institute 88, 1314.
31. Steinmetz et al. (1996); Hill et al. (1994); Block, G. (1992) Nutrition Reviews 50, 207-213.
32. Blount, B. C., Mack, M. M., Wehr, C., MacGregor, J., Hiatt, R., Wang, G., Wickramasinghe, S. N., Everson, R. B. & Ames, B. N. (1997) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 94, 3290-95.
33. Senti, F. R. & Pilch, S. M. (1985) Journal of Nutrition 115, 1398-402.
34. Blount et al. (1997).
35. Bailey, L. B., Wagner, P. A., Christakis, G. J., Araujo, P. E., Appledorf, H., Davis, C. G., Masteryanni, J. & Dinning, J. S. (1979) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32, 2346-53.
36. Bailey, L. B., Wagner, P. A., Christakis, G. J., Davis, C. G., Appledorf, H., Araujo, P. E., Dorsey, E. & Dinning, J. S. (1982) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 35, 1023-32.
37. Blount et al. (1997).
38. Ibid.
39. Wallock, L., Woodall, A., Jacob, R. & Ames, B. (1997) Nutritional status and positive relation of plasma folate to fertility indices in nonsmoking men (The FASEB J., New Orleans, LA), Vol. 11, p. A184 (Abstracts).
40. Boushey, C. J., Beresford, S. A., Omenn, G. S. & Motulsky, A. G. (1995) Journal of the American Medical Association 274, 1049-57.
41. Ames, et al. (1995); Block et al. (1992); and Subar, A. F., Block, G. & James, L. D. (1989) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 508-16.
42. Herbert, V. (1996) in Present Knowledge in Nutrition, eds. Ziegler, E. E. & Filer, L. J. (ILSI Press, Washington, D.C.), pp. 191-205.
43. Wickramasinghe, S. N. & Fida, S. (1994) Blood 83, 1656-61.
44. Herbert, V. (1996).
45. Zhang, J. Z., Henning, S. M. & Swendseid, M. E. (1993) Journal of Nutrition 123, 1349-55.
46. Jacobson, E. L. (1993) Journal of American College of Nutrition 12, 412-6.
47. Ames, B. N. (1998) Manuscript in preparation.
48. Ames, B. N., Profet, M. & Gold, L. S. (1990) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 87, 7777-81 and 7782-86; and Gold, L. S., Slone, T. H. & Ames, B. N. (1997) in Food Chemical Risk Analysis, ed. Tennant, D. (Chapman & Hall Ltd, London), pp. 267-295.
49. Ibid.
50. Gold et al. (1997).
51. Ames et al. (1990) 7777-81; Gold et al. (1997) in Tennant, ed.
52. Gold et al. (1992).
53. Gold et al. (1997) in Tennant, ed.
54. Ames, B. N., Gold, L. S. & Shigenaga, M. K. (1996) Risk Analysis 16, 613-17; and Gold, L. S., Slone, T. H. & Ames, B. N. (1997) in Handbook of Carcinogenic Potency and Genotoxicity Database, eds. Gold, L. S. & Zeiger, E. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL), pp. 661-85.
55. Ames et al. (1996).
56. Laskin, D. L. & Pendino, K. J. (1995) Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology 35, 655-77; Wei, H. & Frenkel, K. (1993) Carcinogenesis 14, 1195-1201; Wei, L., Wei, H. & Frenkel, K. (1993) Carcinogenesis 14, 841-47; Laskin, D. L., Robertson, F. M., Pilaro, A. M. & Laskin, J. D. (1988) Hepatology 8, 1051-55; Czaja, M. J., Xu, J., Ju, Y., Alt, E. & Schmiedeberg, P. (1994) Hepatology 19, 1282-89; Adachi, Y., Moore, L. E., Bradford, B. U., Gao, W. & Thurman, R. G. (1995) Gastroenterology 108, 218-24; and Gunawardhana, L., Mobley, S. A. & Sipes, I. G. (1993) Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 119, 205-213.
57. Gold, L. S., Slone, T. H. & Ames, B. N. (1998) Drug Metabolism Reviews, 30, 361-405.
58. Omenn, G. S., Stuebbe, S. & Lave, L. B. (1995) Molecular Carcinogenesis 14, 37-45.
59. Butterworth, B., Conolly, R. & Morgan, K. (1995) Cancer Letters 93, 129-46; Ames, B. N., Shigenaga, M. K. & Gold, L. S. (1993) Environmental Health Perspectives 101 (Suppl 5), 35-44; and Ames, B. N. & Gold, L. S. (1990) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 87, 7772-76.
60. Environmental Protection Agency (1996), Proposed guidelines for carcinogenic risk assessment, Vol. 61, 17960-18011.
61. Gold et al. (1992); Ames et al. (1990) 7782-86; Gold et al. (1997) in Tennant, ed; and Ames, B. N., Magaw, R. & Gold, L. S. (1987) Science 236, 271-80.
62. Gold et al. (1992); and Gold et al. (1997) in Gold and Zeiger, eds.
63. Gold, L. S. & Zeiger, E., eds. (1997).
64. Gold et al. (1992); Gold et al. (1994); and Gold et al. (1997) in Gold and Zeiger, eds.
65. National Research Council (1996).
66. Ames et al. (1990) 7782-86; and Ames et al. (1996).
67. Ames et al. (1990) 7782-86.
68. Ibid.; and Gold et al. (1997) in Gold and Zeiger, eds.
69. National Academy of Sciences, U. S. A. (1970), The Life Sciences: Recent Progress and Application to Human Affairs, the World of Biological Research, Requirement for the Future (Committee on Research in the Life Sciences, Washington, D.C.).
70. Gribble, G. W. (1996), Pure & Applied Chemistry 68, 1699-1712.
71. Ames et al. (1990) 7782-86.
72. Ibid.
73. Colburn, T., Dumanoski, D. & Meyers, J. P. (1996) Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?: A Scientific Detective Story (Dutton, New York).
74. Safe, S. H. (1994) Environ. Sci. Pollution Res. 1, 29-33; and Safe, S. H. (1995) Environmental Health Perspectives 103, 346-51.
75. Safe (1994); Safe (1995); Safe, S. H. (1997) Environmental Health Perspectives 105, (Suppl 3): 675-78; and Reinli, K. & Block, G. (1996) Nutrition and Cancer 26, 1996.
76. Kolata, G. (1996) Measuring men up, sperm by sperm, The New York Times, E4(N), E4(L), (col.1), May 4.
77. Hahn, R. W., ed. Risks, Costs, and Lives Saved: Getting Better Results from Regulation (Oxford University Press and AEI Press, New York and Washington, DC); and Graham, J. & Wiener, J., eds. Risk versus Risk: Tradeoffs in Protecting Health and the Environment (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts).
78. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1991) Environmental Investments: The Cost of a Clean Environment (Office of the Administrator, Washington, D. C.).
79. Tengs et al. (1995) Risk Analysis 15, 369-89.
80. Ibid.
81. Gold et al. (1992); Ames et al. (1995); and Gold et al. (1997) in Gold and Zeiger, eds.
82. Keeney, R. L. (1990) Risk Analysis 10, 147-59.
83. Wildavsky, A. (1988) Searching for Safety (Transaction Press, New Brunswick, N.J.); Wildavsky, A. B. (1995) But is it True?: A Citizen's Guide to Environmental Health and Safety (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA); and Viscusi, W. K. (1992) Fatal Trade-offs (Oxford University Press, Oxford, England).
84. (1997) Environmental Scares: Plenty of Gloom, The Economist, pp. 19-21.
85. Wildavsky, A.B. (1995) But is it true?: A Citizen's Guide to Environmental Health and Safety, (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA).
86. Block et al. (1992).
87. Gold et al. (1997) in Tennant, ed.
88. Gold et al. (1997) in Gold & Zeiger, eds.
89. Ibid.
90. Innes, J. R. M., Ulland, B. M., Valerio, M. G., Petrucelli, L., Fishbein. L., Hart, E. R., Pallota, A. J., Bates R. R., Falk, H. L., Gart, J. J., Klein, M., Mitchell, I. & Peters, J. (1969) Journal of the National Cancer Institute 42, 1101-14.
91. Davies, T. S. & Monro, A. (1995) Journal of the American College of Toxicology 14, 90-107.
92. Contrera, J., Jacobs, A. & DeGeorge, J. (1997) Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 25, 130-45.
93. Gold et al. (1997) in Gold & Zeiger, eds.

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